Government formation collapsed Kickl will not become Austrian chancellor after all

It has been a long struggle, but now it is clear: Herbert Kickl cannot form a coalition in Austria. This means Kickl will not become chancellor.

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl will not become Austrian chancellor after all. The coalition negotiations between his party and the ÖVP have failed, as Kickl wrote in a press release on Wednesday.

He has resigned from the government formation mandate. "Although we made concessions to the ÖVP on many points in the talks, the negotiations were ultimately not crowned with success, much to our regret. Therefore, today, on February 12, 2025, I am resigning my mandate to form a government," the letter to Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen reads.

Kickl was a guest of Van der Bellen in the Hofburg at midday. There he personally informed the Austrian President about the failure to form a government.

In the morning, the FPÖ presented the ÖVP with a new offer for the distribution of ministries. Although the FPÖ continued to insist on the interior and finance ministries, it wanted to make smaller concessions for other ministries, as the APA news agency reported on Wednesday, citing an internal paper.

Further procedure unclear

According to the proposal, the FPÖ would receive a total of six ministries in addition to the Chancellery. In addition to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, which includes the area of integration, would also fall under its remit. The ministries for health, sport and tourism would also be added.

FPÖ Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz spoke of a "liberal offer" that had been made to ÖVP leader Christian Stocker. Such a division would allow the ÖVP to "work in all its core competencies".

It is currently unclear what will happen in Austria. The Federal President would have the option of appointing a government of experts, while the National Council could call a new election. Another option would be renewed cooperation between the ÖVP and SPÖ - either as a two-party coalition or with the inclusion of a smaller party. However, the fact that talks about a black-red-pink three-party coalition have already failed speaks against this.

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