Brussels – It is now official: a new government has taken office in Vienna. After last Thursday’s political agreement, yesterday came the green light from Neos’ members, the junior liberal partner in the first three-way coalition in Austria’s modern history. Economy and irregular immigration are among the tests awaiting the new chancellor Christian Stocker, leader of the Christian Democrats.
Two records for Austria’s new executive, which formally took office late today (March 3). It is the first with three parties in it: the People’s Party (ÖV), the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and Neos (liberals), which have reached an agreement on the program last Thursday (Feb. 27), and it is the one that required for its formation the longest negotiations in Republican history: a full five months since last September’s elections.
The final green light came yesterday, when Neos members voted on the party’s participation in the coalition. During a hybrid session, some 94 percent of members have approved the policy document that is to guide the executive’s actions. This is the first time the liberal formation, founded in 2012, has come to government.
The new federal chancellor is Christian Stocker, the 64-year-old leader of the ÖVP. “I aspire to be a chancellor for everyone,” he said during the inauguration ceremony in Vienna. The president of the Republic, Alexander Van der Bellen, noted that “good things come to those who wait,” saying he felt “positive and optimistic” about the country’s future.
I am honored and delighted to assume responsibility as Federal Chancellor of this Republic. The people of Austria can rest assured that this country will come first in every decision I make. I will carry out this task in full awareness… pic.twitter.com/56jVH1eXrU
– Christian Stocker (@_CStocker) March 3, 2025
The government team consists of 21 ministers and secretaries of state. The vice-chancellor is the head of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, who will handle the Arts and Culture portfolio, while Neos leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger got Foreign Affairs. Gerhard Karner (Popular) remains in the Interior Ministry, and Klaudia Tanner (Popular) is the Defence Ministry. In addition, the ÖVP has taken over the Ministries of Economy (Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer) and Agriculture (Norbert Totschnig), among others.
The SPÖ gained the Climate and Social Affairs ministries (for Peter Hanke and Corinna Schumann respectively), while Finance and Justice are in the hands of two independents from the Social Democratic area, Markus Marterbauer and Anna Sporrer. To Neos went, in addition to Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education with Christoph Wiederkehr.
The main challenges for Stocker and his allies will now be to reduce unemployment, block the recession and secure the public accounts (an infringement procedure from Brussels looms over Vienna). The coalition agreement calls for cuts in public spending for over €6 billion and a tax increase on big business, as well as a restriction on irregular immigration (e.g., on the issue of family reunification of asylum seekers). Meinl-Reisinger predicted “five years of tough negotiations” between the majority partners. Together, the three parties hold 110 of the total 183 seats in the Nationalrat, the lower house of the Austrian legislature.
In the last elections, the post-Nazi far right FPÖ, led by Herbert Kickl, came out on top.
To avert his entry into the government area, the main centrist parties decided in late February to gloss over their differences (which had led to a first failure of negotiations in early January) and restrict the cordon sanitaire, after an inconclusive attempt by Kickl to form a coalition with the Populars. Before that, in early January, ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos had tried to find an agreement, but the failure of that attempt had led to the resignation of then Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
