Beate Meinl-Reisinger, leader of Austria’s small, liberal Neos party, called on party members to make history on Sunday and support what she sees as a move supporting liberal democracy as they voted on whether to join a proposed coalition government.
Neos members met on Sunday to vote on whether to join the coalition, the last obstacle to a planned alliance of three centrist parties without the far right.
Two-thirds of Neos members taking part in the vote must back the coalition agreement negotiated with the conservative People’s Party (OVP) and Social Democrats (SPO) for Neos to formally join the alliance. If they do not, the OVP and SPO will be left with a majority of just one seat in the lower house.
The new government is due to be sworn in on Monday, ending the longest wait for one since World War Two. The far-right Freedom Party, which came first in September’s parliamentary election with around 29% of the vote, failed to form a government last month after a centrist effort collapsed.
“I have asked myself what democracies are worth if no-one can reach out their hand anymore,” Neos leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger said, referring to the months of negotiations and compromises made in different coalition talks.
