VIENNA: Austria's first three-party coalition since the aftermath of World War Two took office on Monday, ending the country's longest-ever wait for a new government and keeping the Russia-friendly, far-right Freedom Party (FPO) out of power. Although the FPO won September's parliamentary election with about 29 per cent of the vote, the Eurosceptic party failed to form a workable coalition, opening the door to a centrist alternative.
When the FPO bid crumbled, the conservative People's Party (OVP), Social Democrats (SPO) and liberal Neos struck an alliance, overcoming their own earlier failure to do a deal. The new government takes office after two years of recession, and plans spending cuts and tax hikes on big business to bring Austria's budget deficit back within European Union limits and avoid disciplinary proceedings from Brussels.
The OVP will head the interior and defence ministries while the Social Democrats will control finance and justice, with the liberal Neos running foreign affairs. Although the three parties have agreed a 200-page government programme, they will have to hammer out many more policies as they go along, potentially causing tensions in their alliance. — Reuters
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