Vienna, Oct. 4, (dpa/GNA) – Exploratory talks about the formation of a new government have begun in Austria following last Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen received Herbert Kickl, the leader of the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), in the presidential chancellery on Friday.
Neither commented after the meeting, but Kickl said he would make a statement on Saturday. His party won the biggest share of the vote – 29% – in the election.
In Austria, the president appoints the chancellor, but first he must officially commission the formation of a government. Before doing so, Van der Bellen wants to hold exploratory talks with all party leaders.
On Monday, he plans to meet the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) leader and incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer, and the leader of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), Andreas Babler.
Before his meeting with the president, Kickl said that he was “very, very excited.”
The relationship between the two is considered tense. In 2023, Kickl described the now 80-year-old head of state as a “mummy.”
Van der Bellen, on the other hand, has repeatedly shown his reservations about the far-right FPÖ, and sacked Kickl from his post as minister of the interior in 2019.
GNA