After the abrupt end of the coalition negotiations in Austria, representatives of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) have accused foreign powers of playing a part in the breakdown.
The talks between the right-wing FPÖ and the Conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) had abruptly collapsed after four weeks on February 12.
That came as the two parties seemingly could not agree on the division of government ministries, primarily regarding the interior ministry and the finance ministry.
In a TV interview on February 13, FPÖ general secretary Christian Hafenecker claimed that foreign interference had contributed to unwillingness of the ÖVP to form a coalition.
Hafenecker said it was apparent that ÖVP leader Christian Stocker initially wanted the right-wing government to work but “was not allowed to”.
Hafenecker blamed the European People’s Party (EPP) faction in the European Parliament for interfering with the inner matters of Austrian politics. “The German election is looming on the horizon,” Hafenecker continued.
Germans will elect a new goverment on February 23.
Brussels Signal asked the FPÖ for a clarification on whether it had proof of foreign interference and what institutions had exerted the most pressure but had not has a reply at the time of writing.
Suspicions that international forces had sabotaged the negotiations have already been doing the rounds since Stocker’s February 12 statement on why the ÖVP had decided to leave the negotiating table.
He insinuated he had received information from abroad that the FPÖ-led interior ministry – previously under the ÖVP – might threaten to undermine co-operation with international security agencies.
That could endanger Austrians as foreign services might no longer inform Austrian police about impending terror attacks, he seemed to suggest.
Stocker referred to a planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in autumn of 2024 about which the Austrian security forces had been tipped off from abroad.
“We want to care for our international relations because they are essential for the security of this country,” Stocker said.
Some commentators have taken his statements as a sign of foreign interference. Ralph Schoellhammer, a political pundit, called the revelation that international security agencies might stop informing Austria about impending attacks “a threat, nothing else”.
Stocker sagt sinngemäß also, dass er "aus dem Ausland" informiert worden sei, man würde Österreich im Falle eines FPÖ Innenministers (Kickl wäre es nicht gewesen, da BK) möglicherweise nicht über einen geplanten Terroranschlag informieren.
Das ist eine Drohung, nichts anderes. pic.twitter.com/tjMkBUfzbg
— Ralph Schoellhammer (@ralph_schoelli) February 12, 2025
In a statement on February 14, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl accused the ÖVP of only negotiating with the FPÖ for appearance sake and called the party’s negotiation techniques “absurd”.
He alleged that the Conservatives had already started “secret” negotiations with the Social Democrats and other parties on forming a coalition.
Previously, talks between ÖVP, the Social Democratic Party and Liberal Neos party had collapsed in early January after lengthy negotiations.
