The formation of a coalition following Sunday’s elections in Austria will take time, but a coalition with the winning leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), Herbert Kickl, is unrealistic. This was stated by Rainhard Kloucek, president of the Pan-European Movement of Austria, in an interview with Fena. He noted that the election results, in which the FPÖ won around 29 percent of the votes, were not surprising. “The coalition government between the People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Greens was extremely unpopular. The Greens had their agenda, while the People’s Party, despite being the largest party in government, was very weak, and most voters and party members did not like this coalition,” he said.
When asked if a far-right government is possible, Kloucek declared that all parties, except the FPÖ, stated before the elections and reiterated on Sunday evening that they would not form a government with the FPÖ under Herbert Kickl’s leadership.
Regarding what this means for the Western Balkans, he emphasized that the FPÖ is in close contact with Serbia and has strong ties with Dodik in Republika Srpska. “This is indeed a threat to stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and throughout the region, as they have a cooperation agreement with Putin’s party. On the other hand, we have to face the fact that there are migrant groups from these areas that are in close cooperation with the FPÖ. Not just Serbs. Overall, I would say that Austria has been a strong supporter of the Western Balkans region in the past. I think of Alois Mock, who was Foreign Minister before Austria joined the EU. Today, we hear a lot of pleasant rhetoric, but no real actions. Austria would not be a country that opposes the enlargement for Western Balkan countries. Even with the FPÖ in government, we would see more turbulence,” Kloucek said.