Austria’s far-right populist Freedom Party says it has ended its attempts to form a coalition government with the conservative People’s Party, ÖVP. The announcement follows several weeks of heated negotiations and marks the second time coalition talks have failed since September’s election. The ÖVP first attempted to form a three-party coalition with the Social Democrats and the liberal NEOS, then a two-party coalition with the Social Democrats – but both efforts collapsed. With the Freedom Party (FPÖ) unable to form a government, Austria is now in an unclear political situation. The leader of the Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, has called for swift new elections and blamed ÖVP for the collapse, accusing the party of being unwilling to make compromises and playing “power games”.
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