Austria is headed toward its first coalition government between christian democrats and greens. The conservative leader, Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and the Greens Werner Kogler, announced this Sunday that they expect to resolve until mid-week the last fringes of the negotiations began after the general elections of the past September 29, the ÖVP won without a majority sufficient to 37.5% of the vote -environmentalists touched on the 14%-. With the covenant almost on track, the training green, has been convened as a congress for the next day 4, the delegates of the party should approve the coalition agreement, and the entry, for the first time, in the federal Executive.
Both parties tread on new ground, though not unknown. Already working together on some regional Governments, but are making their debut as partners at the national level, which has required intense negotiations to reach a common ground and bridging positions around issues such as immigration control claimed by the right, and the fight against climate change, a requirement central to the environmentalists-the details of the program yet to be finalized this Sunday.
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“we have not Yet crossed the goal line, but the two parties we have removed the major obstacles in the path toward a Government common”, has affirmed this Sunday Kurz in a joint statement released by the agency APA. Green leader he added in the note that there are still some “significant points open” that they hope to solve in the next few days.
To return a second time to the foreign ministry, Kurz has jumped over his own shadow; he has gone to make deals with the ultra-right to negotiate a pact with a party in the antipodes. After winning the elections in 2017, became with 31 years at the head of the Government and the younger chose him as the junior partner to the ultras of the FPÖ. But the government lasted barely a year and a half. The suspicions of corruption around the then vice-chancellor and leader ultra Heinz-Christian Strache unveiled by a video recorded with a hidden camera finiquitaron last may a partnership peppered with controversies and episodes of xenophobic extremists. Kurz broke the coalition and soon after the Parliament withdrew confidence and he was forced to leave the chancellery. Since then, a technical Government directs the alpine republic of 8.8 million inhabitants.
The fiasco with the ultras didn’t cost you to Kurz support among voters austrians; was declared the winner in September, with 37.5% of the vote, nearly six points more, while the extreme right was sinking up to 16% (ten points less). Although both joined new majority, the FPÖ is practically ruled out from the beginning to focus on their mess-house. And while Kurz spoke with all parties, also threw out soon to take a risk again with the ultras. Discarded also a pact with the social democrats, for decades the partner’s traditional coalition, to Kurz were just The Green or a tripartite, involving the liberals. Better a partner than two, should have thought the leader democrat to begin formal negotiations with Werner Kogler, the leader of The Greens.
The Greens, for their part, have saved major obstacles to get here. The first, to return to the Parliament, who were expelled in 2017 by internal problems that included the appearance of a second green list that split the vote ecologist. Driven by the movement against global warming, but also by its proposals on social issues and transparency in public affairs, in the past elections experienced a dramatic recovery with a 14% of the votes, which they have been put in the path of the Government. But their leader, Kogler, has shown to be cautious in these months of conversations and have been reminded on several occasions, the distance ideological and programmatic with the conservatives of Kurz. The two parties already attempted in 2003, but then the conversations of government failed, and the ÖVP ended up shutting down an alliance with the far-right. Now, the green partners as a minority partner in the Executive is not exempt of risks, the expectations are high in the face of projection of the formations ecologists in Europe and within Austria after the strong support garnered at the polls.
The media austrians considered as a distribution as possible of ministries that give to Kogler the skills of a large portfolio of infrastructure, transport and environment, another for social affairs and Justice, while the christian democrats would hold the reins of the economy and the ministries related to security (Interior and Defence) and Foreign.
The ultra right wing licks wounds
The ultra-right austrian has been received with harsh criticism of the announcement of the final stretch of the negotiations between conservatives and greens to form a government in Austria. The new leader of the FPÖ Norbert Hofer, has accused Sebastian Kurz of breaking the election promise to keep the course on the right marked with the extreme right in the Executive coalition ruptured in may and surrender to the fraction “left” of the christian democrats, in his view, since he supported the election of the current president of the country, the exportavoz green Alexander Van der Bellen.
Hofer predicts that with the money given by Kurz the FPÖ recover voters lost and shall take part to the conservatives, but the party is far from its best times. Since the outbreak of the case Ibiza around its former leader Heinz-Christian Strache, have not stopped arise of revelations about alleged excesses and possible embezzlement of money from the party for part of this. Strache, who first put on hold its membership and then was expelled, does not rule out a return to the political scene. Several of his supporters left the FPÖ to create a new party that would open the doors to be a candidate in the city Hall of Vienna the next year.
