Austrian Chancellor Nehammer says will step down after failed coalition talks
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer Saturday said he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a coalition government collapsed. Three political parties – Nehammer's conservative People's Party, the centre-left Social Democrats and the liberal party NEOS – were involved in the negotiations, which were aimed at side-lining the far-right Freedom Party that won the national elections last September.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Saturday he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed a second time.
The announcement came after the People’s Party and the Social Democrats continued coalition talks a day after the liberal Neos party’s surprise withdrawal from discussions.
“Unfortunately I have to tell you today that the negotiations have ended and will not be continued by the People’s Party,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer from the conservative People’s Party said in a statement on social media.
He said that “destructive forces” in the Social Democratic Party have “gained the upper hand” and that the People’s Party will not sign on to a program that is against economic competitiveness.
Social democratic leader Andreas Babler said he regretted the decision by the People’s Party to end the negotiations. “This is not a good decision for our country,” he said.
Babler said that one of the main stumbling blocks had to do with how to repair the “record deficit” left by the previous government.
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