Austria: the center-right forms government with the left and excludes the conservatives, winners of the election

The center-right People's Party (ÖVP) will lead Austria's new government after reaching an agreement with the left -represented in the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)- and with the liberals -NEOS-. Thus, the conservatives - Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) - are left out of the equation, despite the fact that they were the clear winners of the September elections.

"After two weeks of intense negotiations, in which we took advantage of the autumn results and which often lasted late into the night, we have achieved a breakthrough. We have reached an agreement between the People's Party, the Social Democrats and NEOS," confirmed Christian Stocker, leader of the ÖVP and Austria's next president.

With this new government, Austria - which will continue on the path of continuism imposed by the European Union (EU), instead of proposing a change of course to improve the conditions of the country and its citizens - becomes the last country of the alliance to apply the commonly called sanitary cordon to the conservatives, allegedly for being 'a threat' to democracy.

"When others shirk their responsibilities, we act decisively. It's not about party tactics, it's about Austria," Stocker added, referring to the conservatives.

In the September elections, the FPÖ was the most voted party, with 29% of the vote, winning 57 seats - more than double what it had in the previous legislature. The ÖVP -which suffered a resounding landslide - came in second place, with 26% support and winning 51 seats, 20 fewer than it had previously.

For its part, the SPÖ won 21% of the Austrian electorate, adding one seat to its position (from 40 to 41). A slight increase in representation was also achieved by the NEOS, which went from 15 to 18 seats and gained 9% support.