Three-Party Coalition Government Forms in Austria

A coalition between Austria’s conservative People’s Party (övp), the center-left Social Democratic Party (spö) and liberal Neos party was sworn into government on Monday, keeping the country’s far-right Freedom Party (fpö) out of power.

Negotiation chaos: The far-right fpö won Austria’s election last September with 29 percent of the vote, but Austria’s president mandated the conservative övp to form a coalition government to keep the far right from the chancellorship.

Negotiations between the övp, spö, and Neos failed initially. Then the fpö tried forming a coalition with övp, but this too failed.

Five months later: Finally, after five months of failed negotiations, the övp, spö and Neos came to an agreement. Roughly 2,000 Neos members, over 94 percent of the party, voted in favor of the coalition plan on Sunday, which only needed two thirds approval.

övp leader Christian Stocker was sworn in as chancellor.

fpö leader Herbert Kickl called the new government a coalition of “losers” and called for snap elections, which opinion polls show would raise the far right’s lead.

Leadership crisis: This was the longest Austria had gone without a government since World War ii, and it is its first three-party coalition since the 1940s.

The alliance is unlikely to be successful, however. After five months of waiting, the people of Austria now have a coalition nearly a third of them did not vote for.

Nations throughout Europe are lacking leadership as threats rise around the world. Europeans are becoming desperate for a strong leader.

Learn more: Read “Austria’s Leadership Chaos Spells Trouble for Germany.”