Austria's Freedom Party leader to invite People's Party for coalition talks

VIENNA - Austria's Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl said on Tuesday that he planned to invite the conservative People's Party for coalition talks.

Kickl's announcement came one day after he was given a mandate by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen to form a new government.

The Freedom Party came first in Austria's parliamentary election in September, but had been sidelined in the formation of a new government until weeks-long coalition talks without the far-right party collapsed over the weekend.

The three-party coalition negotiations involving the People's Party, the Social Democratic Party and the NEOS party fell apart after the NEOS' withdrawal on Friday, followed by the failure of two-party talks just one day later.

Kickl said on Tuesday that he would officially extend his invitation to the People's Party after an approval by the Freedom Party's party committee later that day.

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

The Freedom Party won the September parliamentary election in a historic first with about 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 in recent days.

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