Kurz Given Gentle Nudge to Consider Greens in Coalition Search
Kurz Asked to Form Austrian Government Amid Split Parliament
(Bloomberg) -- Sebastian Kurz was given a subtle nudge by Austria’s president to consider a coalition with the Greens, as the winner of last month’s election gets down to the fraught task of forming a government.
President Alexander Van der Bellen gave Kurz the official go-ahead to seek a partner in Austria’s fragmented parliament, setting up his return as chancellor. The head of state said the “climate catastrophe” will have to be at the top of the agenda, even as he noted that all parties have taken up the risks of global warming.
By prioritizing the environment, Van der Bellen underlined that the Greens, which he once led, are a prime contender to ally with Kurz. The winner of the Sept. 29 election on Monday listed the environment as the fourth of five priorities for his new government -- below cutting taxes and fighting illegal migration, an area where he is likely to struggle to find common ground with the Greens.
Kurz, whose conservative People’s Party got 37.5% of the vote, needs at least one ally to gain a majority in parliament. While the chancellor and his government are appointed by the president, they can be dismissed by lawmakers and hence any administration needs to be underpinned by a basic parliamentary agreement.
The former chancellor, whose coalition with the nationalist Freedom Party collapsed in May after a scandal over a sting video shot on the Spanish resort island Ibiza, said he will now start official talks with the five parties represented in parliament. All potential coalitions have their pitfalls for Kurz.
The 33-year-old and the Greens emerged as the main winners in the ballot:
- Kurz’s People’s Party won 37.5% of the vote and 71 of the 183 seats in the Nationalrat
- The centre-left Social Democrats won 21.2%, their worst result since Austria was created after the collapse of the Habsburg Empire, winning 40 seats
- The Freedom Party’s support collapsed by 10 points to 16.2%, or 31 seats
- The Greens returned to parliament with 13.9%, or 26 seats
- The liberal and business-friendly Neos won 8.1%, or 15 seats
After talks with the parliamentary parties, Van der Bellen -- who failed to reach a coalition deal in 2003 when he led the Green party -- said he “gained the impression that the People’s Party will be able to achieve a government backed by a majority.” The comment suggests that he would prefer that Kurz not seek minority rule, an option that has rarely been tested in Austrian politics.
The Greens and the People’s Party have significant differences in areas such as social justice and migration. There would have to be “noticeable” changes to the policies of Kurz’s previous government, Werner Kogler, the Greens’ chairman, told Austria’s most influential tabloid newspaper Kronen-Zeitung. But he signaled that he doesn’t expect a complete about-face from the conservatives, saying a coalition could be a success if “out of ten policy areas five remain unchanged and the other five get greener.”
--With assistance from Samuel Dodge.
To contact the reporter on this story: Boris Groendahl in Vienna at bgroendahl@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Chris Reiter, Zoe Schneeweiss
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