Austria's conservative People's Party is under increasing pressure to end coalition talks with the far-right Freedom Party of Austria, as an agreement to form the first FPO-led government has become increasingly unlikely, Reuters reports.
The Eurosceptic and pro-Russia FPO came first in September's parliamentary elections with around 29 percent of the vote, but was only invited to form a government last month after an attempt to form a coalition without it failed.
The OVP is the FPO's only possible partner. However, negotiations have largely stalled as details of their disagreements on issues such as immigration, the European Union and sanctions against Russia emerged, and the FPO insisted on taking control of the powerful finance and interior ministries.
“It is very, very unlikely that it will work,” Reinhold Lopatka, the OVP’s foreign policy negotiator and member of the European Parliament, told the Kleine Zeitung newspaper, adding: “There is not much point in continuing.”
A 223-page document leaked over the weekend summarizing the negotiations so far, with points of agreement highlighted in green and disagreements in red, shows how far apart the parties are, even on immigration, where both sides have strong positions.
A document dated February 4, which was made available to Reuters, showed that the OVP did not support the FPO's proposals, such as interpreting international court rulings in the most restrictive way possible, negotiating Austrian exemptions from EU sanctions on Russia, and paying compensation to those "affected" by COVID-19 legislation.
By the time FPO leader Herbert Kickl was tasked with forming a government, the OVP had described him as an extremist and conspiracy theorist. He opposed COVID restrictions such as lockdowns and moved his party closer to right-wing groups classified as extremist, such as the Identity Movement.
As coalition talks were on the verge of collapse, two centrist parties that had attempted to form a coalition in the talks led by the OVP - the Social Democrats (SPO) and the liberal Neos - said they were ready to renegotiate with the OVP.
"There are alternatives to Herbert Kickl's chancellorship," Neos leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger said in a statement.
"All roads are open to the OVP, and thus all roads are open to Austria. The OVP can choose another road if it wants. No one is being targeted as a self-proclaimed leader."
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