A pre-Christmas breakthrough is not expected, however.

Minimal Compromise Achieved

When the talks were already somewhat on the brink on Friday, at least a minimal compromise was agreed upon to set the budget consolidation over seven years. Whether this is done within the framework of an EU deficit procedure, as the SPÖ wants, or entirely autonomously, as the NEOS primarily want, remained unclear. If Austria does not send a credible consolidation concept to Brussels in January, the Commission will probably initiate a procedure anyway.

The struggle now in the budget-relevant working groups is about how to approach a consolidation. After all, even with the procedure, 3.9 billion would have to be saved by 2025, without it, it would even be 6.3 billion. This would be in addition to the costs for the planned offensive measures. However, ÖVP and NEOS did not want to engage in the wealth taxes demanded by the SPÖ on Friday.

Lack of Lighthouse Projects

The second problem in the negotiations is that there is a lack of so-called lighthouse projects - i.e., real system changes or spectacular initiatives. The NEOS, in particular, are pushing for the realization of such, as they do not want to be just a mere safeguard for black-red.

In recent days, there have been repeated speculations that the NEOS could withdraw from the negotiations. Green Party leader Werner Kogler still considers it "very unlikely" that his party could be approached for this reason, as the ÖVP and SPÖ alone also have a (narrow) majority. However, he would not shy away from negotiating a government if necessary, he explained in the "Kleine Zeitung".

(APA/Red)

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