Austrian parties reach an agreement to form a government without the most correct one
Three mainstream Austria parties said Thursday they had reached a deal to form a new government that ruled out the far right and ended five months of roller coaster negotiations after a general election last fall.
The coalition is scheduled to announce ministerial positions on Friday, but the new minister may be Christian Stocker, the head of the BJP and its largest alliance partner.
The new government will include the left middle and right field parties, but not the far-right Liberal Party, which ended for the first time in a vote in September.
The Liberal Party, founded by former Nazi soldiers in the 1950s and committed to expel immigrants and banning political forms of Islam, has been bidding to become a tough wave of political parties to take power in Europe.
Mainstream parties initially refused to work with the Liberals and tried to form a government without a party, but the conversations failed last month. The most conservative of these parties then negotiated with the Liberal Party, which formed a government that would make Herbert Kickl, the outspoken leader of the far-right party, the prime minister.
But these conversations also broke down, laying the foundation for the final efforts of mainstream parties.
On Thursday, the BJP, Austrian Social Democrats and Liberals announced the deal to form a coalition and proposed a 200-page plan to rule the country over the next four years.
Although the plan’s main focus is on budget and economy, it also involves immigration reform and has proposed a head scan ban on young girls in a tribute to the Liberal Party.
The far right-wing right has been widely popular since last fall, and now votes are nearly 35%. If the league fails, it is likely to be the ultimate winner.
