Vienna, 22 October 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has given incumbent Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the conservative ÖVP the mandate to form a government following September's elections.

Nehammer should immediately start coalition negotiations with the social democratic SPÖ, the head of state said on Tuesday.

This means that the right-wing FPÖ will not be in the running for participation in government for the time being, despite its victory in the parliamentary polls.

Van der Bellen explained that exploratory talks held over the past few days have confirmed that no one wants to form a coalition with the FPÖ under party leader Herbert Kickl.

Van der Bellen said the party leaders of the ÖVP and SPÖ had explained to him that they did not want to govern with the FPÖ out of concern for democracy and the rule of law.

They also cited the FPÖ's pro-Moscow stance, its failure to distance itself from the far right, and the concerns of foreign intelligence services as reasons.

"Austria needs a government that is capable of acting, stable and has integrity," said the president. He did not rule out the possibility that the liberal Neos or the Greens could also be part of the next government to ensure a broader majority in parliament.

The FPÖ won the parliamentary elections at the end of September with 29% of the vote.

The ÖVP suffered a severe loss of votes and was pushed into second place with 26%. The SPÖ slid to a historic low of 21%, followed by the Neos with 9% and the Greens, who had previously governed with the ÖVP, on 8%.

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