By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
VIENNA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Austria’s fiercely anti-migration Freedom Party (FPO) was likely to appoint its first chancellor after being invited by the Alpine nation’s president to explore forming a government in what amounted to a political earthquake in this country of roughly 9 million people.
FPO leader Herbert Kickl was to meet Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen late Monday morning in Vienna, the capital, as efforts to form a centrist coalition collapsed.
With Kickl on his way to take over the next administration, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer resigned. “Unfortunately, I have to tell you today that the negotiations have ended and will not be continued by the People’s Party,” Nehammer from the conservative People’s Party said in published remarks.
He complained that “destructive forces” in the Social Democratic Party “gained the upper hand,” adding that his People’s Party (OVP) could not agree on a program that “is against economic competitiveness.”
The OVP’s newly-named interim leader, Christian Stocker, said Sunday he had his party’s approval to negotiate toward a coalition led by the FPO, which won more seats than any other party in September’s federal election.
Austria’s shift to the right underscored a broader trend in the European Union, where a growing number of voters blame massive immigration from mainly Muslim nations for the current economic difficulties.
The EU nation borders Hungary, where the long-time rightwing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán erected a massive fence along the border with Serbia to halt back migrants, many of whom fled war, persecution, and poverty.
Nehammer said he would step down as chancellor and party chairman of the OVP in the coming days to enable an “orderly transition.”
He has held both posts since late 2021.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Senior European intelligence officials see little chance of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine this year, despite President Donald J. Trump’s claim that U.S.-brokered negotiations have brought a peace deal “reasonably close.”
British police raided two properties linked to former Prince Andrew on Thursday and detained the 66-year-old royal on suspicion of misconduct in public office, escalating scrutiny over his past association with the late U.S. financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Christians in Pakistan’s Punjab province were searching Thursday for an abducted minor girl, days after the provincial governor signed legislation raising the legal marriage age to 18 and criminalizing child marriage as a non-bailable offense.
The U.S. trade deficit edged slightly lower in 2025 but remained the third-largest on record, underscoring the scale of America’s global trade imbalance even amid sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The United Kingdom will not allow the Pentagon to use British-controlled bases to launch potential military strikes against Iran, according to a report by The Times of London.
President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled what he called a historic new diplomatic framework — the “Board of Peace” — during an inaugural meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, announcing billions in pledges for Gaza reconstruction and signaling that a major decision on Iran could come within days.
President Donald Trump is weighing an initial, limited military strike on Iran aimed at forcing Tehran to meet U.S. demands for a comprehensive nuclear agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported.