A cross-block three-party coalition between the conservative ÖVP, the social democratic SPÖ, and the liberal Neos is underway in Austria, according to Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer from ÖVP at a joint press conference in Vienna.
Formal coalition negotiations will begin on Thursday.
We three do not have to work together, but we want to work together, says SPÖ party leader Andreas Babler according to the news agency APA.
The three parties together received 110 out of 183 mandates in the parliamentary election at the end of September. The largest party in the election was then the far-right party FPÖ with 57 mandates. The other parties have, however, strongly opposed cooperation with FPÖ and its party leader Herbert Kickl.
