Plain talk with parties

Van der Bellen must now set the course

The Federal President will meet the party leaders of the FPÖ, ÖVP and SPÖ again on Monday and will soon take further steps to form a government.(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

Days of preliminary decisions on the political direction Austria will take. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen is once again receiving the party leaders of the major parties for individual talks. 

The course for Austria's political future will be set in the coming days. Where will the journey take us? The ball is now in the Federal President's court.

Kickl, Nehammer and Babler in the Hofburg on Monday
Alexander Van der Bellen will receive the party leaders Herbert Kickl (FPÖ), Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and Andreas Babler (SPÖ) in the Hofburg on Monday afternoon. One-on-one talks after the meetings of the "big three", who are significantly involved in planning the future of the country for the challenging years ahead. It is still a journey into the unknown. But contours are emerging on the horizon.

The Federal President will meet the party leaders of the FPÖ, ÖVP and SPÖ again on Monday and will soon initiate further steps towards forming a government.(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

Next steps under the Chancellor's leadership?
Nehammer and Babler have declared that they want nothing to do with the election winner Kickl or the FPÖ (the ÖVP Chancellor is only concerned with the blue leader) in a government. This is unlikely to have changed on Monday. Van der Bellen, however, has been pushing for stable conditions from the outset and has not imposed any time pressure to fix them. Nevertheless, the direction must now be set. This is likely to take place with Karl Nehammer as the sounding board.

"Clear statement"in the coming days
The ÖVP traditionally has no major fundamental problems with the SPÖ as a partner - and vice versa. This time, however, a third small party will be needed to secure a full mandate. And therefore suitability for government. This is where the NEOS will almost certainly come into play. The Greens have recently fallen out with the ÖVP (keyword: renaturation, among other things).

Even if the head of state will (have to) set the next course, the "roadmap" for further talks and possibly negotiations will be determined by the respective parties, according to the office of the Federal President. He will soon be addressing the people. The President has stated that his statement will "certainly be clear" and that he himself "will certainly be unequivocal."