Austrian president gives far-right FPO party leader mandate to form government

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen gave the leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Herbert Kickl, a mandate to form a new government with the Austrian People's Party (OVP) after talks on Monday.

In a press conference on Monday in Vienna, Van der Bellen said: "I did not take this step lightly."

"One of the most important tasks of the Federal President is to ensure that the country has a federal government," he said.

Last week, coalition talks between the OVP under the incumbent Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO) and the Liberal Party (NEOS) broke down.

Nehammer then announced his resignation last Saturday.

"We have tried everything up to now. It is not possible to reach an agreement on key issues, so there is no point in a positive future for Austria," Nehammer said in a written statement.

In the parliamentary elections in Austria on September 29 last year, the FPO received the most votes with 28.85%.

Nevertheless, Van der Bellen did not appoint the leader of the far-right party, Kickl, but Nehammer to form the government.

However, the Austrian President said on Monday that he had "certain wishes, but respect for the voters dictates that I accept this majority."

"I will continue to ensure that the principles and rules of our constitution are correctly observed and adhered to," Van der Bellen added.

This is the first time since 1945 that a representative of the FPO has been tasked with forming a government in Austria. Until now, this mandate has only ever gone to representatives of the SPO or the OVP.