Despite potential difficulty, those parties might consider that course of action preferable given how opinion polls suggest a snap vote would reward the far right with a stomping victory.
Van der Bellen is scheduled to make a statement at 6:30 p.m.
Kickl had looked on course to be Austria’s first far-right leader since World War II. His party won the most votes in the September election — and although Van der Bellen gave then-Chancellor Karl Nehammer the first chance to form a coalition with the other mainstream parties, talks broke down in early January.
Although the anti-migrant, pro-Russian FPÖ has been in discussions with Nehammer’s ÖVP since January, they have been unable to reach an agreement on sharing cabinet posts.
In his latest bid, Kickl offered his rivals a greater number of ministries while keeping the key posts of interior and finance for his own party. In its counteroffer, the ÖVP wanted to keep the finance and interior ministries, but proposed the FPÖ take the asylum and migration portfolios. Kickl rejected this.
“To our regret, the negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful,” Kickl told Van der Bellen.
Center-right leader Christian Stocker said the ÖVP wanted to secure a “defensible constitutional state” and ensure cooperation with international intelligence services, which is why it wanted to keep the finance and interior ministries.
Although Stocker hasn’t said anything about a possible resumption of talks with the parties to their left, the Social , the Greens and the liberal NEOS party have all signaled their willingness to speak.
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