After Sunday’s parliamentary elections, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen called on parties to agree on a government coalition.
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On Sunday, elections to the National Council (lower house of parliament) of the republic were held throughout Austria. At 17.00 the last polling station closed. According to the ORF TV channel, which presented preliminary voting results a few minutes after the polls closed, the APS is in first place, receiving 29.1%, which is 13 percentage points more than in the 2019 elections. This is the best election result in the history of this party. The party of the current Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the Austrian People’s Party (AP, German ÖVP), ranks second with 26.3%, which is 11.1 percentage points less than in 2019.
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“As you know, no party got more than 50%, so we need to negotiate with each other,” the president said, his statement broadcast live by the Austrian television channel Puls 24.
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According to him, who can create a government coalition with whom and what wishes the parties have on this issue will be shown in the coming weeks.
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“And whatever the composition of the future federal government, its main goal must be to ensure a good future for us all,” Van der Bellen concluded.
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Sunday’s vote will show what the new composition of the national council will be like over the next five years, which coalition will come to power, and whether Chancellor Nehammer will remain in office or be replaced by a new candidate.
