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Werner Faymann quits as Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann quits as Austrian chancellor
(35 minutes later)
Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann has resigned after losing the support of his colleagues in the Social Democratic party.Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann has resigned after losing the support of his colleagues in the Social Democratic party.
Faymann had been under pressure from trade unionists and the SPO youth wing for his tough stance on asylum laws and for the party’s poor performance in a presidential election two weeks ago. Faymann had been under pressure from trade unionists and the SPÖ’s youth wing for his tough stance on asylum laws and for the party’s poor performance in a presidential election two weeks ago.
“I am thankful for seven and a half years and wish my successor much luck,” he said at a hastily arranged press conference, the oe24.at news site reported. “I am standing down because I no longer have support in the party.”“I am thankful for seven and a half years and wish my successor much luck,” he said at a hastily arranged press conference, the oe24.at news site reported. “I am standing down because I no longer have support in the party.”
Austria has been braced for political turmoil ever since rightwing populist Norbert Hofer won a landslide victory in the first round of the country’s presidential elections.Austria has been braced for political turmoil ever since rightwing populist Norbert Hofer won a landslide victory in the first round of the country’s presidential elections.
Hofer, of the rightwing Freedom party, defied pollsters’ predictions to beat the Green party’s Alexander Van der Bellen into second place, gaining 36% of the vote. The two candidates will go head to head in a run-off ballot on 22 May. Hofer, of the rightwing Freedom party (FPÖ), defied pollsters’ predictions to beat the Green party’s Alexander Van der Bellen into second place, gaining 36% of the vote. The two candidates will go head to head in a run-off ballot on 22 May.
Faymann faced calls to resign after the vote, saying at the time that the result was a “clear signal to the government that we have to cooperate more strongly”. Faymann faced calls to resign after the vote, saying at the time that the result was a “clear signal to the government that we have to cooperate more strongly”. He was booed at at an SPÖ May Day rally and was facing calls from some in the party to cooperate with the FPÖ, moves he had previously resisted.
While the presidential post is mainly a ceremonial role, Hofer has threatened to make use of a right to dissolve parliament before the 2018 elections, warning other candidates in a TV debate that “you will be surprised by what can be done [by a president]”. “We need a decision about which direction to take, a new SPÖ, which doesn’t dither, zig-zags around, and tries to please everyone. It’s a mistake to politically exclude the FPÖ,” SPÖ lawmaker and unionist, Josef Muchitsch, told Profil magazine at the weekend.
But others, such as Vienna’s influential mayor, Michael Häupl, had supported Faymann. The minister for the chancellory, Josef Ostermayer, suggested on Saturday the party could cooperate with the FPÖ on the provincial and municipal level - where much of the political power is held in federalised Austria.
“It could go in this direction: the different levels - municipalities, provinces - decide for themselves if cooperation makes sense,” he told tabloid Öesterreich.
While president of Austria is mainly a ceremonial role, Hofer has threatened to make use of a right to dissolve parliament before the 2018 elections, warning other candidates in a TV debate that “you will be surprised by what can be done [by a president]”.
A youthful 45-year-old who is partially paralysed after a paragliding accident, Hofer has campaigned for disability rights and is seen as having lent a friendly face to a party that balances virulently anti-immigration and Eurosceptic messages with leftist stances on welfare issues.A youthful 45-year-old who is partially paralysed after a paragliding accident, Hofer has campaigned for disability rights and is seen as having lent a friendly face to a party that balances virulently anti-immigration and Eurosceptic messages with leftist stances on welfare issues.
Many commentators say the crisis of the political establishment in Austria has much to do with the fact that the two centrist parties have governed the country in a “grand coalition” for the past 10 years.Many commentators say the crisis of the political establishment in Austria has much to do with the fact that the two centrist parties have governed the country in a “grand coalition” for the past 10 years.