At a snail's pace

Zuckerl coalition: Where the ÖVP and SPÖ disagree

Nehammer, Meinl-Reisinger and Babler may soon be tinkering with the Zuckerl coalition. But there are still some initial hurdles.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Reuters, Reinhard Holl, Mario Urbantschitsch)

Even five weeks after the National Council elections, it is still far from clear whether the ÖVP and SPÖ want to form a coalition at all - and if so, with whom as a third political partner. While the ÖVP seems to have clearly decided in favor of the NEOS, the Social Democrats clearly still have doubts ...

The "Zuckerl" coalition has not even been negotiated yet when the first prominent rejection has already been made. Karoline Edtstadler declared her partial withdrawal from top politics (she will remain in the National Council) in the "Krone" newspaper. She is not seeking a ministerial office in the next government - regardless of who actually ends up forming a coalition with whom. This is also remarkable because Edtstadler was considered to be the successor to ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer should he fail to form a coalition and then resign himself.