Months of coalition talks between Austria’s two centrist parties have ended without a deal, placing the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) in a stronger position to shape the country’s political future after it was sidelined despite winning the election.

The coalition talks aimed to exclude the FPO, which emerged as the largest party with 28.8% of the vote in the country’s general election in September 2024. Despite efforts by Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party (OVP) and the Social Democratic Party (SPO), which received 26.3% and 21.1%, respectively, irreconcilable differences led to a breakdown of discussions.

Nehammer, who had been the chancellor of Austria since 2021, expressed regret over the collapse of talks, acknowledging that the parties had been unable to reach the necessary compromises, especially after the small liberal Neos party quit the talks on Friday.