By Francois Murphy
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian parties that plan to form a coalition government excluding the far right announced their future ministers on Friday, among them the first left-wing finance minister in 25 years, before a key vote to seal the deal on Sunday.
The conservative People’s Party (OVP), Social Democrats (SPO) and liberal Neos presented their coalition programme on Thursday, five months after the eurosceptic, Russia-friendly Freedom Party (FPO) came first in September’s parliamentary election with around 29% of the vote.
The new government is due to take office on Monday, a day after the Neos put the deal to a vote of their members at a meeting in Vienna where a two-thirds majority is required. If it does not pass, the Neos will not be part of the coalition and the other two parties will have a majority of just one seat.
When the FPO gave up trying to form a coalition government two weeks ago, the three parties revived efforts to form one, keen to avoid a snap election that opinion polls suggested would only extend the far-right party’s lead.
The government will be headed by the OVP and its new leader, 64-year-old lawyer Christian Stocker. The SPO will take the justice and finance ministries, while the OVP will control the interior, defence and economy ministries. The Neos are due to take over foreign affairs and education.
The SPO’s pick for finance minister, 60-year-old economist Markus Marterbauer, will restructure Austria’s budget “in a balanced and socially just way”, said party leader Andreas Babler, who is due to become vice chancellor.
“He will ensure that we do not blindly save our way into a crisis, but rather invest our way out of it,” Babler said.
The coalition programme places heavy emphasis on reducing the budget deficit to within the European Union’s limit of 3% of economic output.
Measures to achieve more than 6.3 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in savings this year include raising a tax on banks and extending windfall taxes on power and energy companies.
($1 = 0.9607 euros)
(Editing by Gareth Jones)
