VIENNA (AP) — Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Saturday he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed a second time.
The announcement came after the People’s Party and the Social Democrats on Saturday continued coalition talks a day after the liberal Neos party’s surprise withdrawal from discussions.
“Unfortunately I have to tell you today that the negotiations have ended and will not be continued by the People’s Party,” said Nehammer, the conservative party's leader, in a statement on social media.
He said that “destructive forces” in the Social Democratic Party have “gained the upper hand” and that the People’s Party will not sign on to a program that it considers to be against economic competitiveness.
Social democratic leader Andreas Babler said he regretted the People’s Party decision to end the talks. “This is not a good decision for our country,” he said.
Babler said that one of the main stumbling blocks had to do with how to repair the “record deficit” left by the previous government.
“I have offered to Karl Nehammer and the People’s Party to continue negotiating and called on them not to give up," he told reporters Saturday evening.
The next government in Austria faces the challenge of having to save between 18 to 24 billion euros, according to the EU Commission. In addition, Austria has been in a recession for the past two years, is experiencing rising unemployment, and its budget deficit is currently at 3.7% of Gross Domestic Product — above the EU’s limit of 3%.
Babler blamed the collapse of the negotiations on “forces within the People’s Party” that were against a coalition with the Social Democrats, while praising Nehammer for his readiness to compromise.
A coalition between the People’s Party and the Social Democrats was considered shaky from the beginning since the two parties together only have a razor-thin one-seat majority in the Austrian parliament.
It was not immediately clear what would happen next.
The People’s Party will have to search for a replacement for Nehammer, who has always ruled out the possibility of a coalition with far-right leader Herbert Kickl. But Nehammer’s expected resignation could now prompt the party to rethink its options under new leadership.
People's Party officials planned to meet Sunday to discuss choosing a new leader.
The People’s Party and the far-right Freedom Party are close on economic policies as well as other issues such as migration and are already working together in five coalitions on the local level.
An early election would be another option. But given Austrian election laws, such an election would unlikely take place before May.
Coalition talks had dragged on after Austria’s president tasked the conservative chancellor in October with putting together a new government. The request came after all other parties refused to work with the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which in September won a national election for the first time with 29.2% of the vote.
According to the latest opinion polls published in December, the Freedom Party increased its support to between 35% and 37%.
Party leader Herbert Kickl criticized Nehammer, Babler and Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen in a written statement on Saturday evening for having created “chaos instead of stability” and said the ball is now in Van der Bellen’s court.
Van der Bellen is expected to make a statement tomorrow, Austrian's public broadcaster ORF reports.
FILE - Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer attends a press conference in Vienna on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader, File)
The New York Giants are sticking with general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll.
Team president and co-owner John Mara announced Monday that he and co-owner Steve Tisch decided to move forward with the Giants' current leadership even after a 3-14 season that ranks among the franchise's worst.
“We came to the decision that staying with both of them is the best course of action for us right now,” Mara said at the team's facility. “I think in Brian’s case, he was the Coach of the Year two years ago. That didn’t disappear all of a sudden. I still believe he can do that again. And in Joe’s case, I thought we had an outstanding draft class this year. I thought we had a really good free agency period. I really like the staff that he’s put together and built.”
Mara said he spoke to Schoen and Daboll for “several hours” last Friday before deciding to bring them both back.
“I think that they’re the right two guys to lead us going forward," Mara said. “I understand, believe me, that that’s not going to be the most popular decision in Giant land.”
Frustrated fans, unhappy during a franchise-record 10-game losing streak, flew banners from planes above MetLife Stadium before the Giants’ last two home games, urging Mara to make wholesale changes.
“I didn’t need planes flying over me to tell me how upset the fans are,” Mara said. “I hear from them every day. So, that really did not have much of an effect. I get how upset they are. I try to respond to them. Nobody was more upset than I am about how we performed in recent years. I have to stand up here and take the heat for that.”
Instead, Schoen and Daboll will be back next season and spend the next few months searching for a quarterback — the Giants have the No. 3 overall pick in the draft in April — while trying to build a roster to compete in the NFC East after going 0-6 in the division and finishing 1-8 at home overall.
“That’s obviously the No. 1 issue for us going into this offseason, is to find our quarterback of the future,” Mara said. “Whether that be via the draft or acquiring a veteran, it’s going to be up to them to decide, ultimately.”
Mara said he wouldn't put “any kind of time limit” on his committment to the two, but made it clear he needs to see marked improvement from both Schoen and Daboll next season.
“It better not take too long,” Mara said, “because I’ve just about run out of patience.”
Both Schoen and Daboll were hired by the Giants in 2022 and their tenure got off to a promising start with New York going 9-7-1 and making the playoffs, where they beat Minnesota in the wild-card round before losing to NFC East-rival Philadelphia, the eventual conference champion, in the divisional round. Daboll was also selected the AP NFL Coach of the Year.
But with quarterback Daniel Jones — who received a four-year, $160 million contract extension during that offseason — dealing with injuries and inconsistency, the Giants struggled to a 6-11 finish.
Jones returned this season healthy, but was benched for poor play after New York got off to a 2-8 start. He asked for and was given his release by the Giants, who then used Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock as starting quarterbacks as New York won just one of its final seven games — putting both Schoen and Daboll's job in jeopardy.
“Three wins, not good enough. So, a lot of work to be done,” Daboll said after the Giants' season-ending 20-13 loss to the Eagles on Sunday.
“We stunk this year,” Mara said. “The results on the field were not what we wanted them to be. There were a number of factors that went into that.”
Not re-signing running back Saquon Barkley certainly didn't help, especially after he ran for 2,005 yards for NFC East-rival Philadelphia and challenged Eric Dickerson's NFL single-season record.
“If I’m sitting here a year from now and you’re asking me these questions, I’ll take the heat,” Mara said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to make a decision and we’ve made one.”
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New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll walks the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll walks the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
