The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) had been tasked with leading negotiations to form a government in Vienna after previous negotiations fell apart. View on euronews

The FPÖ has returned its mandate to the president, the ecologist Alexander Van der Bellen, who must find a solution to get the country out of the political stalemate it has been in since the September 2024 legislative elections.

The collapse on Wednesday of the FPÖ’s talks with the conservative People’s Party (OVP), its only potential coalition partner, sends Austria back to the drawing board four-and-a-half months after a parliamentary election in which the eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPÖ came first with around 29 per cent.

The party’s inability to forge a coalition of the centre now threatens not only its future but also Austria’s democratic fabric. A robust, democratic centre-right is vital to political stability. If the ÖVP cannot recover, who will represent Austria’s conservative democratic voters? And where will they turn?

Austria is once again in political limbo after the collapse of coalition talks between the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP). With FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl withdrawing from negotiations, the country is left without a clear path forward.

Talks to form Austria's first coalition government led by the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) collapsed on Wednesday, days after the FPO's negotiations with the conservative People's Party (OVP) ground to a halt,

Despite going into the talks with similar objectives on tax and stemming illegal immigration, the two rival right-wing parties clashed over the European Union, sanctions on Russia