Austrian coalition talks enter formal phase after initial sounding out

Head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger makes her way to coalition talks with Austrian Chancellor and head of the People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer and head of the Social Democrats Andreas Babler in Vienna, Austria, November 18, 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl

VIENNA (Reuters) -The three Austrian parties in the so-called "sounding out" phase of talks on forming a new government have agreed to launch full-scale coalition talks, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who is leading the process, said on Monday.

The far-right Freedom Party (FPO) came first in September's parliamentary election but, with around 29% of the vote, it would have needed a coalition partner to control a majority of seats in parliament and establish a government.