Austria’s Nehammer gets mandate to govern despite poll finish behind far right

Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen has given incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer a mandate to form Vienna’s next government after all other parties refused to enter into a coalition with the far right.

Nehammer, whose center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) came in second to the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) in September’s parliamentary election, is expected to govern with the Social Democrats (SPÖ), but Van der Bellen emphasized that the two should find a third partner to form a strong majority.

“The election is not a race where the first wins. If a party wants to govern alone, it needs more than 50 percent … Otherwise, it needs to convince possible partners and the president … Partners, who want to work together and trust each other,” Van der Bellen stressed in his announcement on Tuesday.

After the election, the anti-migrant, pro-Russian FPÖ seemed to be in a safe position to lead the next government, but all other parties vetoed any idea of a Cabinet led by party leader Herbert Kickl. 

“Herbert Kickl could not find a coalition partner to make him chancellor,” said Van der Bellen.

The ÖVP and SPÖ together would only have a one-seat majority in parliament, but they could join forces with the liberal NEOS party or the Greens. The Greens supported Nehammer, who took over the chancellery in 2021, in his last coalition.