Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen today gave the leader of the Freedom Party of Austria, Herbert Kikl, a mandate to form a government, which would be the first in that country to be led by the far right since World War II.
Kiklo's party took first place in parliamentary elections in September, with 28,8 percent of the vote, followed by the conservative Austrian People's Party of outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehmer.
In October, Van der Bellen gave Nehamer a mandate to form a government, as his party announced that it would not enter a government with the Freedom Party while it is led by Kikl, and other parties ruled out the possibility of cooperation with the extreme right.
Attempts to form a ruling coalition without the far right failed in the first few days of 2025, after which Nehamer announced his resignation on Saturday. Nehamer's party then hinted that it could be open to cooperation with Kikla.
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After today's meeting with Kikla, which lasted about an hour, Van der Bellen said that he tasked the leader of the Freedom Party to talk with the Austrian People's Party in order to form a new government.
It is not certain that the negotiations between the extreme right and the conservatives on the coalition will be successful, and in the current convocation of the parliament there are no other realistic options for the formation of the government. Public opinion polls indicate that new elections could further strengthen Kikl's party.
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