Start of Coalition Negotiations Between FPÖ and ÖVP

Firstly, the parties have taken on the biggest challenge, the renovation of the severely damaged budget. To this end, an expert group is expected to meet later in the morning, party leaders Herbert Kickl and Christian Stocker will reportedly not be present yet. The group is also expected to meet over the weekend, with initial results expected at the beginning of the week.

Decision on Coalition Negotiations

Only in the past few days have both parties officially decided on coalition negotiations, after talks between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS had failed. The focus is - as before - firstly on budget renovation. Both sides want to avoid an EU deficit procedure. After it was initially unofficially stated that the talks would take place in parliament, the meeting was probably moved to a secret location at short notice due to media interest.

"Detailed Preliminary Work"

Specifically, a budget negotiation group is meeting for the time being. This group is supposed to meet "permanently" to clarify the key points by the beginning of next week. ÖVP club chairman August Wöginger, who is part of the black negotiation team and is also supposed to be present at the budget talks, pointed out in a statement the "detailed preliminary work" on the topic. In addition, it is necessary to reach an agreement on the issues that are essential for the ÖVP, such as the "protection of Austria's sovereignty against foreign influence - especially Russia".

Important principles for the ÖVP also include "a constructive role for Austria in the European Union" and the "protection and preservation of our liberal democracy and our rule of law". In addition, it is necessary to continue to clearly commit to the fight against anti-Semitism and extremism. "If the FPÖ is ready to take responsibility for our country together with us as the ÖVP under the mentioned premises, then a constructive negotiation result can be achieved together," says Wöginger.

(APA/Red)

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