Three parties in talks to form Austrian coalition gov’t

VIENNA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) — Austria’s three leading political parties began coalition talks on Wednesday to negotiate the formation of a new government.
The discussions involved the New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS), the People’s Party, and the Social Democratic Party, following earlier two-party talks between the People’s Party and the Social Democrats after September’s general election.
The NEOS party leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger said before the talks that it is her “clear goal” to reach an agreement with the other parties, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.
In September’s parliamentary election, the far-right Freedom Party came first with around 29 percent of the vote, followed by the People’s Party and the Social Democratic Party with 26.3 percent and 21.1 percent respectively. The NEOS came fourth.
In October, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen tasked the People’s Party with forming a coalition government, since the Freedom Party could not find a coalition partner to govern.
A coalition comprising only the People’s Party and the Social Democrats would have a shaky majority of just one seat in the National Council, Austria’s lower house of parliament, making a third partner desirable to maintain a stable parliamentary majority. ■