Austrian coalition talks expected to hit snag over control of interior ministry
Coalition negotiations between Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the conservative People's Party (ÖVP) are reportedly stuck over which party will get control of the country's interior ministry.
The FPÖ and the ÖVP have been holding talks about forming a government since January, after previous discussions between the ÖVP, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPO), and the liberal Neos party collapsed.
The FPÖ, and its controversial leader Hebert Kickl, came first in September's parliamentary election in September with about 29% of the vote, but faced difficulty in finding other parties that would agree with its Eurosceptic and Russia-friendly agenda.
Local media reports say that coming discussions between the FPÖ and the ÖVP will be tense as both parties are vying for control over the interior ministry, which oversees law enforcement and has broad responsibility over the nation's migration and asylum policy.
Kickl publicly claimed he should have control of both the interior and finance ministries last week in a Facebook post. The ÖVP called it "unacceptable" that both departments should be under the FPÖ's control, but recently softened its position on the finance ministry, according to the Austria Press Agency.
Aside from the interior ministry, reports on Sunday suggested that a compromise on foreign policy was emerging. Local media said the FPÖ offered the ÖVP the foreign ministry as well as control over the country's European Union agendas.
They also reached in January an agreement to bring down the country's budget deficit.
There is reportedly still plenty of room for discussion between the two parties, who disagree on a number of policy areas and whose politicians have expressed personal dislike for one another.
A report by Austrian public broadcaster ORF said that the FPÖ is unwilling to accept the World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic treaty, and wants to withdraw from NATO's Partnership for Peace treaty — a programme aimed at creating trust and cooperation between NATO member states, according to its website.
Elsewhere, Kickl — who has long campaigned against vaccinations — has said that his party wants "compensation" from the previous government for policies introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also reportedly wants government buildings to stop flying EU flags, a position that strays from the ÖVP's pro-European course.
Entering into coalition negotiations with the FPÖ was framed as a last resort by the ÖVP, whose former leader Karl Nehammer insisted he would not enter negotiations with Kickl and who resigned after failing to put together an alternative coalition.
Kickl is a polarising figure, due to his anti-immigration and broadly Eurosceptic platform promising to tackle illegal immigration and Austria's consistently high inflation rate.
He has been criticised for his casual use of Nazi-era terms — having once called himself the "Volkskanzler" (People's chancellor), a term that the Nazis used to describe Adolf Hitler — as well as his opposition to vaccinations and lockdowns during the pandemic.
If Kickl becomes chancellor, he will head the country's first far-right-led government since the Second World War.
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