Austrian People’s Party Seeks Talks with Viktor Orban’s Ally

In his first statement following his appointment as the new chairman of the Austrian People’s Party (OVP), Christian Stocker emphasized that the party accepts the Freedom Party’s (FPO) offer to enter coalition talks.

Christian Stocker, the party chairman and members of the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) in Vienna, September 29, 2024. (Photo: FLORIAN WIESER / APA / AFP)

The Austrian People’s Party (OVP) has made it clear that it intends to accept a potential offer from the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) for coalition negotiations. This was confirmed earlier today by Christian Stocker, the newly appointed interim chairman of OVP. The OVP’s executive committee reached this decision unanimously, as reported by exxpress.at.

Although Stocker did not specify whether he would take on the role of party chairman permanently, his comments at the press conference gave no indication that he sees his tenure as temporary.

In seinem ersten Statement nach der Bestellung zum neuen ÖVP-Obmann zeigt sich Christian Stocker "erfreut". Außerdem betonte er, dass die Volkspartei ein Gesprächsangebot der FPÖ zu Koalitionsverhandlungen annehmen würde. https://t.co/mjiO2Mys5u

— exxpress (@exxpressat) January 5, 2025

According to the Austrian news portal, former Chancellor Karl Nehammer contacted President Alexander Van der Bellen on Sunday to resign his mandate to form a government. Stocker hopes Van der Bellen will now task Herbert Kickl, leader of the Freedom Party, with forming a government. Kickl is scheduled to meet with the president on Monday.

Österreich versinkt im Polit-Chaos und eine blau-schwarze Koalition droht https://t.co/eViaoNvVSS

— stern (@sternde) January 5, 2025

Austrian Chancellor Resigns

Christian Stocker succeeds Karl Nehammer, who announced his resignation as party chairman and federal chancellor on Saturday after coalition talks with the left-wing Social Democrats (SPO) collapsed.

It is still unclear who will succeed Nehammer as Austria’s chancellor.

Following the national elections in September, the liberals (NEOS), the OVP, and the SPO had been working to form a three-party coalition government, despite elections results with the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) securing the largest share of votes. However, NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger previously stated that the talks had stalled over fundamental disagreements, prompting NEOS to walk away from negotiations.

Coalition talks dragged on as all other parties refused to cooperate with the Freedom Party (FPO), which won the election with 29.2% of the vote under Herbert Kickl’s leadership. 

This forced the OVP and SPO to try to court a smaller party to secure a majority.

The next likely step is another round of elections—a scenario the Freedom Party, led by Kickl, immediately welcomed, as polls suggest the FPO’s popularity has only grown since the elections.

Österreich braucht jetzt einen Kanzler Kickl 🇦🇹
Damit es den Menschen endlich wieder besser geht und sie einen starken Partner haben 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/hrChVfOXu3

— FPÖ (@FPOE_TV) January 5, 2025

In a Facebook post, the Freedom Party chief Herbert Kickl sharply criticized the process of government formation , calling Chancellor Nehammer’s resignation logical but long overdue.

Viktor Orban's Ally Could Lead the Government

Political analyst Daniel Deak commented on Austria’s unfolding political situation, highlighting the possibility of a government led by an ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The September election was won by Viktor Orban’s allies, the Austrian Freedom Party, but they were unable to form a government alone. Instead, the losing parties began coalition talks, which ultimately failed. This led to Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announcing his resignation. From this point forward, there are two possibilities: either the Austrian People’s Party reaches an agreement with the Freedom Party to form a government, or new elections will be held, which according to the polls the FPO will win by an even greater margin,

the expert explained. 

Cover photo: Christian Stocker, the party chairman and members of the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) in Vienna, September 29, 2024. (Photo: FLORIAN WIESER / APA / AFP)