Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO) is isolated after a historic victory in parliamentary elections and at the mercy of a powerful critic - President Alexander van der Bellen, who must oversee steps towards forming a viable coalition government.
The Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO won first place, but 29 percent of the vote is not enough for a majority in parliament and needs a coalition partner to govern. Leaders of other parties say they are not interested.
President Van der Bellen (80), a former leader of the leftist Greens, expressed reservations about the FPO last year because it did not condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and because of the party's opposition to sanctions against Moscow.
He also hinted that he might not allow 55-year-old FPO leader Herbert Kikl to become prime minister. Kikl called on Van der Belen to follow established practice and ask the first-placed party to form a government. Van der Belen says he has no such obligation, and constitutional experts agree.
In an address on Sunday evening, when he asked the parties to consult with each other, Van der Bellen said the "pillars of our liberal democracy" must be respected, citing the rule of law, minority rights, independent media and membership of the European Union, Reuters reported. .
Kiklo's opponents say these are points he and the FPO seek to undermine. Kikl claims that his party is the only true defender of Austrian sovereignty and neutrality.
"Of course, it was a message, but it can have two different meanings," Katrin Stainer-Hamerle, professor of political science at the University of Applied Sciences in Carinthia, told Reuters, commenting on Van der Bellen's remarks.
"On the one hand, this may mean that the Freedom Party must not be allowed to come to power. I don't think he wanted to go that far... But of course, it can also mean: 'There are some things that I want to be included in the program of the (future) government'".
Van der Belen's cabinet also hinted that the process of forming a coalition could last even longer than the two or three months that Austrians are used to.
The president says that he is not obliged to entrust the party with the most votes with the mandate to form the government
Reuters recalls the situation after the 2019 election, in which the ruling conservatives won by a significantly larger margin, when Van der Bellen said he would "naturally" ask the party that won first place to try to form a coalition. He did so eight days later.
This time he did not give such an instruction, but said that the party that does not have a majority "must convince others - other potential partners in the government, as well as the president", if it wants to form a government, emphasizing its central role.
Kikl said on Sunday that Van der Belen must take into account that the FPO won first place.
"This constitution is not based on the principle of arbitrariness, but on the balance of power," he said.
The FPO won about 2,5 percentage points more than the conservative People's Party (OVP) of Chancellor Karl Nehamer. It is the best result of Ultadesnica and Kikl accused the rivals of going against the will of the voters.
If Kikl is unable to find a partner, a coalition with the OVP and the Social Democrats is possible.
The FPO, founded in the 1950s by a former Nazi lawmaker, is working to soften its image. As with the rising right-wing in some other EU countries, voters were drawn to the FPO's promises to limit immigration and tackle cost-of-living crises.
The OVP is the only party that has signaled openness to forming a coalition with the FPO, but Nehamer ruled out the possibility of entering the government with Kikla, describing him as an extremist threat to security and democracy.
He repeated this on Sunday, but there are no indications that Kikl will give up his position in the government.
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