VIENNA: Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) is hoping that its no-confidence motion against the federal government, which it plans to introduce at the upcoming session of the National Council, will win support beyond the opposition benches, acccording to ORF News.
“Perhaps the free mandate should also be invoked,” FPÖ Secretary-General Christian Hafenecker told a press conference on Tuesday, one day before the start of the plenary session. His sharpest criticism was directed at the Social Democrats (SPÖ), whom he accused of continuing to create chaos.
Looking ahead to the two plenary days, Hafenecker described the situation as “almost good news,” suggesting that, given his party’s motion, these could be the final sessions under what he called the “losers’ traffic light” coalition.
He argued that the FPÖ’s motion would give lawmakers from the governing parties an opportunity to express their own dissatisfaction with the government. The party hopes that “one or another” government deputy might vote in favour.
Hafenecker cited the state of the SPÖ as one of the main reasons for the motion, saying it was unclear with whom the government was even negotiating. He said the governing party presented a “miserable picture.”
“It is unbelievable when a party celebrates the fact that, at last, everyone attended a federal executive board meeting,” he said. “The SPÖ has definitely not resolved its crisis; at most, it has prolonged it.”
The remarks underline the FPÖ’s effort to portray the governing coalition as unstable while appealing directly to any discontent among its parliamentary rivals.
