Although the Neos were mostly part of the coalition at this time, they did not play a role in the negotiations appointed by the federal president. According to “press” information, there will be a meeting of the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos leaders this week.
When chancellor Carl Neuhammer and FPÖ leader Herbert Kickle meet on Tuesday afternoon, the front lines are relatively clear: the blue election winner wants to form an alliance with the turquoise runner-up, but the latter categorically excludes blue boss Kickle. Expectations were low ahead of Tuesday’s talks, as neither Kikilo nor his party considered swapping their front man for government participation. The same applies to the meeting between SPÖ leader Andreas Pöbler and Kikkel scheduled for Thursday. The SPÖ rejects an alliance with the Blues, regardless of their party leader.
If there are no more radical changes on these fronts, a third partner will inevitably come into play. The ÖVP and SPÖ have been saying everywhere that a mandate in the National Council is rare to rule with such a slim majority. This partner can only be Neos or Greens; This is also reflected in the course of conversation these days: while the Greens are not currently involved in debates, Neos’ leadership is very much present. And on his own initiative: According to the report, Pink leader Pete Meinl-Reisinger invited his party leadership colleagues to debates after the election. Officially, these are not called preliminary negotiations, but they are an exchange of “parliamentary cooperation”. The dates for that have now been fixed.
Meinl-Reisinger will speak with the chancellor on Wednesday, followed by talks with SPÖ leader Andreas Babler on Thursday. In between, Nehammer and Poplar talk to each other about a possible alliance.
