Austria's president 'to discuss coalition with leader of far right'

Austria's president has said he will meet the leader of the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ), amid speculation that the pro-Kremlin, anti-Islam party will be tasked with trying to form a government after centrist parties failed to find agreement.

- Ashifa Kassam

The Alpine nation of 9 million has in recent days been plunged into crisis after the collapse of coalition talks aimed at keeping the far right out of government, and yesterday it appeared the FPÖ - narrowly the most voted for party in September's parliamentary polls - would be most likely to benefit from the turmoil.

It would be a turn of fortune for the party, which had seemed poised to be kept out of power after the mainstream parties, including Austria's People's party, refused to back a government led by the FPÖ's leader, Herbert Kickl, who during the election routinely peppered his speeches with Nazi rhetoric, railed against migrants with slogans such as "Fortress Austria" and "Austria First", and had been previously ousted as a hard-line interior minister.

Austria's president, Alexander van der Bellen, said he had spent several hours speaking to officials and had emerged with the impression that "the voices within the People's party who exclude working with the Freedom party under its leader Herbert Kickl have become quieter".