NAN-F-45
Polls
Vienna, May 16, 2017 (dpa/NAN) All Austrian parties on Tuesday agreed to hold early elections on Oct. 15, according to the liberal Neos party, few days after a junior governing coalition partner called for snap elections.
On Sunday, the new leader of the conservative People’s Party (OeVP), Sebastian Kurz, called for early parliamentary elections as he promised to pull his party from the centrist coalition government.
Chancellor Christian Kern, who heads the Social Democratic Party (SPOe), had warned against dissolving the coalition, saying it could open the door for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which is polling well.
The SPOe-OeVP coalition, although in tatters, is still technically in place until the fall elections.
Kern said in front of parliament that he expects to reach out to minority parties to find ad hoc majorities to push laws through parliament.
He said he can no longer rely on the support of the OeVP.
Prior to the call for snap polls, regular elections had been expected in late 2018.
According to recent polls, Kern and Kurz, FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache also has a reasonable chance at becoming chancellor of the Alpine country in the fall election. (dpa/NAN)
OYE/IEA
========
Damilola-Celine Oyewole/Idahosa Asowata