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Austrian far-right leader meets president, seeks coalition mandate

Van der Bellen infuriated the FPO by not tasking it with forming a government soon after the election since no potential coalition partner was immediately forthcoming

The leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO) met President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday expecting to be tasked with forming a coalition government after a centrist bid to assemble one without the FPO collapsed over the weekend.

The eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO, founded in the 1950s by a former senior officer in Hitler's elite paramilitary SS, came first in a parliamentary election for the first time in September with more than 29% of the vote. It has been in power before as a junior coalition partner but has never led a government.

"First the people and then the chancellor," FPO leader Herbert Kickl said in a brief Facebook posting on Sunday evening, repeating a populist slogan from his campaign, adding that he would not comment before meeting Van der Bellen.

He arrived for his meeting at Van der Bellen's office as planned at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT). Van der Bellen was due to give a statement to the media less than an hour after the meeting ends.

Van der Bellen infuriated the FPO by not tasking it with forming a government soon after the election since no potential coalition partner was immediately forthcoming. That task fell to the conservative People's Party (OVP) and its leader Chancellor Karl Nehammer. The OVP came second in the election.

Nehammer's attempts to assemble a three- and then two-party coalition with other centrist parties fell apart this weekend, prompting him to announce his resignation.

He had long insisted his party would not govern with FPO leader Herbert Kickl, arguing he is a conspiracy theorist and security threat. With Nehammer gone, so is that red line. His interim successor as OVP leader, Christian Stocker, said on Sunday his party would take part in any coalition talks led by Kickl.

"We are at the very beginning. If we are invited to these talks, the outcome of those talks is open," OVP heavyweight Wilfried Haslauer, the governor of Salzburg state who stood next to Stocker at his first statement to the media as designated party leader, told broadcaster ORF.

Should those talks fail, however, a snap election is likely, and opinion polls show FPO support has only grown since September.

The OVP and FPO overlap on various issues, particularly taking a tough line on immigration.

The thorniest issue in the centrists' talks, however, was how to shrink the budget deficit, which is forecast to exceed the EU's limit of 3% of economic output in 2024 and 2025.

While both parties call for tax cuts, the FPO has pledged to take a knife to some of the OVP's vested interests, such as the powerful Chamber of Commerce. They clash over the FPO's opposition to aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia, and current plans for a missile defence system.

Van der Bellen, a former leader of the left-wing Greens, has repeatedly said he will remain vigilant to ensure "cornerstones of democracy" including human rights, independent media and Austria's membership of the European Union are respected.

"Voices within the People's Party that rule out cooperation with an FPO under Herbert Kickl have become much quieter. This in turn means that a new path may be opening up that did not exist before," Van der Bellen said in an address on Sunday.