Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Sunday announced that he will meet with far-right politician Herbert Kickl as speculation grows that he will ask the Freedom Party leader to form a government. Van der Bellen made the announcement after talks with Chancellor Karl Nehammer and others at his presidential palace, the AP reports. Nehammer has announced his intention to resign after coalition negotiations between his conservative Austrian People's Party and the center-left Social Democrats collapsed over the budget. Nehammer has ruled out working with Kickl, but others in his party are less adamant.
Earlier Sunday, the People's Party nominated its general secretary, Christian Stocker, as interim leader, but the president said Nehammer would remain chancellor for now. Van der Bellen said he talked to key officials for several hours and got the impression that "the voices within the People's Party who exclude working with the Freedom Party under its leader Herbert Kickl have become quieter." The president said that this development has "potentially opened a new path," which has prompted him to invite Kickl for a meeting on Monday morning.
Stocker told reporters on Sunday that he welcomes the decision by the president to meet with Kickl, per the AP. He said he now expects that the leader of the Freedom Party, which won the last election, will be asked to form a government. "If we are invited to negotiations to form a government, we will accept this invitation," Stocker said. In the past, he has criticized Kickl, calling him a "security risk" for the country.
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