Austria's coalition talks disrupted as liberal Neos party quits

Investing.com -- The liberal Neos party, one of three parties involved in discussions to form Austria's next government, abruptly exited the negotiations on Friday. This unexpected move has thrown the effort to form a centrist ruling coalition, excluding the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), into chaos.

The Neos party's exit has created uncertainty about the future of the coalition talks and has given a boost to the FPO, a eurosceptic party with ties to Russia. The FPO has been critical of these negotiations as it was excluded from them despite securing 29% of the vote in the last parliamentary election in September.

Even though the FPO would have required a coalition partner to govern, and none was available, support for the party has increased since it was sidelined. This has escalated the pressure on the two remaining parties in the talks - the People's Party (OVP) led by conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer and the Social Democrats (SPO) - to find a solution.

Neos leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger announced the party's departure from the negotiations at a press conference. She accused the other parties of not having the courage to make bold decisions, including in their last meeting that extended into Thursday night.

The Neos party supports tax cuts and structural reforms, including controversial ideas like increasing the retirement age. The party, which has never been part of the national government, positions itself as modernizers in contrast to the traditional parties of power, the SPO and OVP.

The Neos party's exit highlights the increasing difficulty of forming stable governments in European countries like Germany and France. The far right has been gaining traction in these countries, but many parties are reluctant to form alliances with them.

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Source: Investing.com