"Hand outstretched"

If blue-black fails, others are already standing by

Sepp Schellhorn (NEOS), Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and Werner Kogler (Greens) signaled their willingness to enter into government negotiations with the ÖVP on ORF.(Bild: ORF)

134 days have passed since the national elections and Austria still has no government. The FPÖ and ÖVP are struggling in tough negotiations, before that the "Zuckerl" had already burst. Should the blue-black coalition fail after all, new elections are on the cards - or yet another option? In any case, the representatives of the SPÖ, Greens and NEOS emphasized on Sunday evening that they were ready. 

Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and Werner Kogler (Greens) appealed to the ÖVP to end the coalition negotiations with the FPÖ and to hold talks with the SPÖ and possibly a third party. "It is never too late to turn back", said Kogler in the ORF program "Das Gespräch". Babler appealed to the "common sense" of the ÖVP. The NEOS would also be ready for new talks, said NEOS mandatary Sepp Schellhorn.

Babler: "Our hand is outstretched"
Babler emphasized that it was about taking responsibility. "Our hand is outstretched", he said once again in the direction of the ÖVP. Because we know "what is threatening": "Namely that the leader of an extreme right-wing party could become Federal Chancellor with the help of the ÖVP." The first prerequisite for a resumption of talks is that "common sense" returns to the ÖVP. "It is up to the ÖVP to make a decision now. They know who they are getting into bed with," he said, referring to FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl.

Asked whether the SPÖ would be prepared to make compromises, Babler said that his party had "not drawn any red lines" in the tripartite negotiations or those with the ÖVP alone. "We remained seated, we wanted to finish these negotiations. We were of the opinion that the issues could be resolved" and that compromises could be made. "A small group in the ÖVP saw it differently." And: "I am sure that I could have completed these negotiations with Karl Nehammer. But he was no longer able to budge and was dismantled very harshly and the ÖVP left the negotiating table." The SPÖ had proven that it would go the "long way": "We can negotiate everything except democracy," said Babler.

Kogler warns against Kickl as chancellor
Kogler warned the ÖVP against helping the FPÖ into the chancellorship: "If the ÖVP elevates the partly right-wing extremist FPÖ and Herbert Kickl into the chancellorship, it will be burdening itself with historical guilt." Before there are new elections, Kogler believes it would be "sensible and responsible for the ÖVP to approach the SPÖ again", possibly "with a third party" - this would probably be the NEOS, according to the former Vice-Chancellor. "We would support this, even with a two-thirds majority, nothing has changed in this respect," he said.

Kogler described the ÖVP's negotiations with the FPÖ as a "no-go": "The ÖVP ran for office and thus gained votes to prevent Kickl and the FPÖ for good reasons - as a 'security risk' (as the ÖVP called Kickl during the election campaign, note)." Now, however, the People's Party is about to make Kickl chancellor. Babler also said that he would never have believed "that the ÖVP would break its word".

NEOS still willing to talk
NEOS member Schellhorn, whose party was the first to leave the three-way talks between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS at the beginning of January, said that "no stone should be left unturned" and hinted at supporting an ÖVP minority government. Because new elections would "fuel those who are playing with it", he said, referring to the FPÖ without naming them directly. Compromises could be made, he said. The ball is now in the FPÖ and ÖVP's court. "If they don't reach an agreement, they may have to approach each other again with other roles." Babler also did not completely rule out the possibility of supporting an ÖVP minority government.