Austria's Far-Right Party Assigned to Form Government in Historic Event

The President of Austria has tasked Herbert Kickl, the leader of the far-right "Freedom" Party, with forming the new government of the country. The President's order was issued on Monday, January 7, just days after the conservative right-wing "People's" Party failed to form a coalition cabinet. Although the far-right party has previously been part of coalition governments, this is the first time it has been assigned to form a government. The "People's" Party topped the Austrian general elections held in September with about 29% of the votes, but in the past few months of negotiations, it failed to reach an agreement with other parties, including the Social Democrats and the Liberal Party, to form a government. Alexander Van der Bellen, the President of Austria, stated after a one-hour meeting with the leader of the far-right party, "Herbert Kickl believes he can find a solution and has accepted this responsibility; therefore, I asked him to negotiate with the People's Party to form a new government." Following the failure of negotiations to form a government, the Chancellor of Austria announced he would resign. Some experts believe that despite a realistic prospect for a coalition government between the two conservative and far-right parties in Austria, there is no guarantee of success in these negotiations due to Herbert Kickl's unpredictability. Concurrently with the President's meeting with the leader of the far-right party, hundreds protested in front of the presidential palace in Vienna, chanting slogans such as "Nazis out" and "Unity against the far-right." Despite the President's previous concerns about the far-right leader's positions, he stated on Sunday after the failure of efforts to form a new government, "Evidence shows that dissenting voices within the People's Party for cooperation and coalition with the far-right party have become much quieter." Herbert Kickl became the leader of the far-right Freedom Party in 2020, which had been severely damaged by a series of financial and ethical scandals. In recent years, he has revived this party by capitalizing on public dissatisfaction regarding immigration, the COVID crisis, and the war in Ukraine. The far-right "Freedom" Party of Austria was founded in the 1950s by former Nazis, and Mr. Kickl has frequently used phrases and tones common in Nazi discourse in his speeches. For example, he referred to himself as the "Chancellor of the People," a phrase that Adolf Hitler used to describe his position as the leader of Nazi Germany. After the failure of coalition government negotiations, Karl Nehammer, the leader of the People's Party, announced that he would resign from the leadership of this party and the Chancellorship of Austria to facilitate the power transition process to the new government. It seems that this conservative party has concluded that the likelihood of forming a coalition government with the far-right party is greater than with other parties. Christian Stöcker, the interim leader of the People's Party, stated on Sunday that they would accept negotiations to form a coalition government if invited by the far-right party. Jewish advocacy organizations and those concerned with the legacy of anti-Semitism in Europe have described the assignment of government formation responsibility to the far-right party as another step in "Europe's move towards historical amnesia."