Conservative Sebastian Kurz and the Greens sealed a coalition agreement on Wednesday, January 1, signing the return to office of the young Christian Democrat leader who ruled until May with the far right.
“The ÖVP party and the Greens have agreed on a government program”, announced an environmental education officer who will participate for the first time in a government coalition.
A conservative party official confirmed the deal while an official announcement was expected after an ongoing meeting in Vienna to finalize the alliance.
Three months after the September 29 legislative elections won by ex-chancellor Kurz, Austria will experience an unprecedented alliance between ÖVP, the heavyweight of national politics, and the Die Grünen party, which has recorded a breakthrough in the last elections.
The central European country, populated by 8.9 million inhabitants, will figure with Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Luxembourg among the EU member states where environmentalists participate in government, in a context where the calls to act against climate change are becoming more and more pressing.
The tandem is not obvious between the liberal Sebastian Kurz, supporter of a hard line on immigration, and Greens politically anchored on the left who were among the most virulent opponents to the leader of 33 years when joined forces with the extreme right in December 2017 for its first term.
This union of the conservative right and the nationalists had been followed with attention by a Europe struggling with the rise of populism. But Sebastian Kurz’s government with the FPÖ shattered after 18 months when far-right leader and vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache was implicated in a corruption case.
“Political acrobatics”
The resounding Ibizagate scandal arose from the broadcast last May of a video filmed in a hidden camera in a villa in Ibiza (Spain), showing in particular Mr. Strache ready to negotiate public contracts with a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch.
Forced to scuttle his coalition, Mr. Kurz had called early elections which his party had largely won (37.5%). Faced with losing Social Democrats and an extreme right that has become infrequent and showing a decline of 10 points in the ballot box, the leader of the right has chosen to turn to environmentalists (fourth with 13.9% of the vote) ).
Both parties take “A risky bet” given their “Fundamentally different political approaches”, underlines the regional daily Tiroler Zeitung. The Greens will “Coalition partners more demanding than the jokes of Ibiza”, predicts the powerful tabloid Kronen Zeitung, considering that “The loss of a certain comfort is the price that Sebastian Kurz must pay to maintain power”.
For the leader of the Conservatives, “A real political acrobatics” and he “Will have to walk on a thread” so as not to lose the fringe of its conquered electorate at the expense of the far right, observes political scientist Thomas Hofer.
“Super Ministry” of the environment
Sebastian Kurz has already insisted on his desire to “Continue the tax cuts” and the “Fight against illegal immigration”. The details of the compromises found by the two parties will be known at the presentation of their joint program, scheduled for Thursday.
The right will largely dominate the new ministerial team within which the Greens should win four portfolios, including one “Super ministry” of the environment also including transport, energy and technology.
MEP Leonore Gewessler, former head of one of Austria’s leading environmental organizations, has already been announced for the post. Party leader Werner Kogler, 58, will be vice-chancellor.
Other powers of the Greens should include justice, social affairs and culture, according to the press. Sebastian Kurz’s party will keep control of the interior, finance and foreign ministries.
The Greens will still have to agree to the pact of government at an extraordinary congress convened on Saturday. The investiture for the new team could take place on Monday.
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