The leader of the Austrian far-right urges to negotiate “without tricks” and does not rule out new elections

VIENNA Jan. 7 (DPA/EP) –

The leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) of Austria, Herbert Kickl, to whom the president, Alexander Van der Bellen, has entrusted the negotiations to form a new Government, has reached out to the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) to finalize a new coalition, although he has warned that any future negotiations must be done “without tricks” because, otherwise, there will be new elections.

Kickl, 55, was already Minister of the Interior between 2017 and 2019 in a government led by the OVP, and is now primarily responsible for forming a new Executive, after contacts led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer after the legislative elections of September have not prospered.

In his first appearance after receiving the assignment, the FPO leader said he was committed to an “honest policy”, a will that he also demands from his potential partners. Thus, he has called for negotiations “without games, tricks, sabotage”, with a view to ensuring that citizens trust the political class again.

Kickl, in fact, has raised the specter of new elections if the OVP does not adhere to the criteria of the extreme right. “We are prepared,” proclaimed the leader of the FPO, aware that the polls anticipate for his party, which already won in September, an even more advantageous scenario in the event of returning to the polls.

If there is finally an agreement, Kickl would become the first far-right politician to head the Austrian Government. The president of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, former leader of the Greens, acknowledged on Monday that it was not easy for him to grant the mandate to the top representative of the FPO.