Austria has finally formed a governing coalition 151 days after the September elections. It includes the conservative People's Party (ÖVP), the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), and the liberal Neos party. The far-right and pro-Russian Freedom Party (FPÖ), which won the most votes in the election, has been left out of the coalition, writes the BBC.
The coalition talks have become the longest in Austria's post-war history. Two previous attempts to form a government had failed. Finally, the three parties announced the successful conclusion of the talks. If all parties approve the agreement, the government will begin next week. This will be Austria's first three-party government since the 1940s.
Christian Stocker, a representative of the People's Party, will become the new chancellor. Presenting the new government's program alongside SPÖ leader Andreas Bäbler and Neos leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Stocker said the negotiations had been "perhaps the most difficult in our country's history." He stressed that despite the difficulties, they had made "progress" that was not "a minimal compromise." The program also emphasizes the new government's commitment to "a stronger and better European Union."
