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Austria backs green agenda with new coalition deal | |
(about 20 hours later) | |
Austria's right-wing leader Sebastian Kurz has put forward a coalition plan with his new Green partners, including more ambitious measures to decarbonise the economy. | |
They aim to put Austria on a path to becoming climate-neutral by 2040 - ten years earlier than the EU's goal. | |
Climate neutrality means balancing greenhouse gas emissions with measures that absorb or eliminate carbon. | |
The conservatives won a snap September election, and the Greens made gains. | |
Mr Kurz said the joint programme also included many of his People's Party (ÖVP) priorities, like lower income taxes and stricter controls on migration. | |
The ÖVP had been in coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) until a scandal toppled the government in May. The FPÖ got entangled in a video sting scandal, dubbed "Ibiza-gate", involving cash for favours. | |
The Green Party is entering national government for the first time. | |
The new coalition line-up still has to be formally approved by both parties. Under the plan, the ÖVP will have 11 ministerial posts and the Greens four. | |
"We succeeded in uniting the best of both worlds," Mr Kurz said. "It is possible to protect the climate and borders." | |
The programme includes: | |
Greens leader Werner Kogler said Austria should now become a European leader on climate change issues. | |
Mr Kurz is poised to return as Austria's chancellor, with Mr Kogler as vice-chancellor. | |
Among the prospective Green ministers is 35-year-old Alma Zadic, a lawyer born in Bosnia, who is set to run the justice ministry. She is likely to push for a more open immigration policy. | |
How did we get here? | How did we get here? |
After elections in 2017, the FPÖ joined a coalition with Mr Kurz's People's Party (ÖVP). | |
But the government fell apart in May over the "Ibiza-gate" scandal. | |
Journalists revealed secret recordings of FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache, promising government contracts to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch at a villa on the Spanish island. | |
Snap elections followed in September. The ÖVP came out unscathed, winning in eight of Austria's nine federal states and increasing its share of the national vote to 37%. The FPÖ, in contrast, only won 16%, a sharp fall from its 2017 performance. | |
Mr Kurz's party however did not gain a majority and began coalition talks with smaller parties - including the Greens, who had won 14% of the vote. | Mr Kurz's party however did not gain a majority and began coalition talks with smaller parties - including the Greens, who had won 14% of the vote. |
Green leader Mr Kogler said straight after the September election that the next government would need to see "radical change" from the right-wing policies pursued by the previous coalition. | Green leader Mr Kogler said straight after the September election that the next government would need to see "radical change" from the right-wing policies pursued by the previous coalition. |
A Green party congress must still endorse the coalition with the People's Party. Its roughly 280 delegates are however expected to approve the agreement. | A Green party congress must still endorse the coalition with the People's Party. Its roughly 280 delegates are however expected to approve the agreement. |
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