The President of Austria has today entrusted the leader of the far-right party, Herbert Kickl, with the task of forming a new government. If his efforts to form a government succeed, it will mark the first time since World War II that a far-right party, which opposes immigration, sanctions against Russia, and Western military aid to Ukraine, will govern Austria.
On Monday, President Alexander Van der Bellen granted the mandate to Herbert Kickl, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, to form a new government.
Kickl’s party was the winner of Austria’s September general elections with 28.8 percent of the vote. However, President Van der Bellen had initially given the opportunity to the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), which came second in the elections, led by the outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer, to form the government after other parties refused to cooperate with the far-right party.
Efforts to form a governing coalition without the far-right were unsuccessful at the beginning of this year, forcing Chancellor Nehammer to resign on Saturday.
Following his resignation, the People’s Party signaled it could be open to governing under Kickl’s leadership.
There is no guarantee that negotiations between the two parties will be successful, but with the current makeup of parliament, a coalition between them remains the only option to form a government. Polls suggest that new elections would further strengthen the far-right party.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on Monday outside the Austrian presidential office in Vienna to oppose the formation of a far-right government, chanting “All Against Fascism” and holding signs reading “Shame.”
“We do not want to wake up in a fascist state. We don’t want to wake up in an authoritarian system like in Hungary. We want to preserve democracy in Austria and strengthen it,” said protester Martin Fuchs.
The conservatives and the far-right party have governed together in the past, with the Freedom Party serving as a junior partner in the coalition. Kickl served as Interior Minister the last time these two parties were in power between 2017 and 2019.
In its election program, the Freedom Party calls for the expulsion of immigrants, or as it terms it, “the re-migration of unwanted foreigners,” as well as the creation of a “more homogeneous” state through strict border control and suspension of the right to asylum.
The party also calls for an end to sanctions against Russia, takes a critical stance toward Western military aid for Ukraine, and seeks to withdraw from the European Sky Shield, a missile defense project initiated by Germany.
Kickl has criticized what he refers to as the “elites” in Brussels and called for the return of certain powers currently held by the European Union back to Austria.
