Austrian president gives Freedom Party mandate to form govt

VIENNA -- Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday tasked Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl with forming a new government after recent coalition talks without the far-right party collapsed.

Van der Bellen announced the decision following a one-hour talk with Kickl around noon. Speaking at a press conference, the president said that the political landscape had shifted, as the People's Party was now ready to negotiate a coalition under Kickl's leadership.

Kickl expressed confidence in finding viable solutions and affirmed willingness to take the responsibility, Van der Bellen was quoted as saying by Austrian news agency APA.

The Freedom Party has previously served as a junior coalition partner but has never led an Austrian government.

The Austrian president's latest move follows the collapse of three-party coalition talks involving the People's Party, the Social Democratic Party and the NEOS party. Subsequent two-party talks also failed after the NEOS' withdrawal.

In the September parliamentary election, the Freedom Party secured around 29 percent of the vote, ahead of the People's Party with 26.3 percent and the Social Democratic Party with 21.1 percent. Despite winning the parliamentary presidency, the Freedom Party had been unable to secure coalition partners to form a government.

In October, Van der Bellen tasked the People's Party with forming a government. However, coalition talks led by the party dragged on from mid-November until their sudden collapse over the weekend.

On Saturday, Karl Nehammer resigned as chancellor and chairman of the People's Party after the negotiations failed. Nehammer had consistently opposed forming a coalition with the Freedom Party under Kickl.

The People's Party on Sunday appointed secretary-general Christian Stocker as interim leader. Though Stocker has been a sharp critic of Kickl, he said later that day that his party was open to coalition negotiations with the Freedom Party.

Stocker defended the shift, citing the need to get a stable government and avoid wasting time with election campaigns.