Austria
ready to form new conservative-Green government
Preliminary
deal still needs approval from Greens’ Federal Congress.
By MELISSA
HEIKKILÄ 12/29/19, 11:34 AM CET
Austria
will be able to ring in a new decade with a new government, after the
conservative Austria’s People’s Party, led by Sebastian Kurz, and the Green
Party agreed to a preliminary coalition deal on Saturday night.
The
agreement comes three months after the country's parliamentary elections, in
which former Chancellor Kurz's party came first, with 37 percent of the vote,
and the Greens returned to parliament on the back of growing concern over
climate change.
The
preliminary deal still needs to be signed off by the Greens' Federal Congress,
which has been summoned to meet on January 4, Reuters reported.
"The
intensive negotiations of the past days and weeks have paid off. The finish
line has not yet been crossed, but the big obstacles in the way of a coalition
have been cleared from both sides," Kurz told Austrian daily Salzburger
Nachrichten on Sunday.
Austria has
been governed by a technocratic interim government — under the leadership of
senior judge Brigitte Bierlein — since late May, when Kurz lost a no-confidence
vote in the wake of a corruption scandal that brought down the governing
coalition between his People's Party and the far-right Freedom Party. The
so-called Ibiza scandal was triggered by a video appearing to show
Heinz-Christian Strache — then the Freedom Party's leader — attempting to trade
public contracts for campaign support from a woman he thought to be a wealthy
Russian.
Immigration
and the budget were the main sticking points in the negotiations, according to
Austrian media. The Greens are pushing for an investment package for
environmental measures, and Kurz has said he wants to continue his hard line on
immigration.
"Many
seemingly insurmountable hurdles have already been overcome. Some important
questions are still open and should be clarified in the next few days,"
said Green Party chief Werner Kogler.
The new
deal will give the Greens the infrastructure ministry, which also handles
environmental and energy issues, according to Salzburger Nachrichten. The
Greens will also lead the ministries of justice, social affairs and health, as
well as the ministry of art and culture. Kurz's People's Party will take over
the foreign, finance, interior, defense, economy, education, and agriculture
ministries.
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