Austria’s Social Democrat (SPÖ) chancellor Werner Faymann has resigned with immediate effect, felled by rising far-right populists and fatigue with his government – in particular its handling of the migration crisis.
Mr Faymann’s resignation, as Austrian leader and SPÖ chairman, comes after the party’s candidate mustered just 11 per cent to finish fourth in last month’s first-round presidential elections. With the populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) on course to win a second round on May 22nd, Mr Faymann stood down after a bitter power struggle inside his party.
While Vienna’s mayor Michael Häupl, a senior SPÖ figure, is ready to serve as interim party leader, it was not immediately clear who would succeed Mr Faymann as chancellor.
“This country needs a chancellor whose party stands fully behind him, the government needs a fresh start with energy,” said Mr Faymann (56) in a press conference. “Whoever doesn’t have this support cannot fulfil this task.”
Mr Faymann said he was proud that Austria had offered asylum to 120,000 people fleeing war in Syria and elsewhere last year. But, in a parting shot to critics in Berlin and Brussels, he insisted it would have been “irresponsible” had Vienna not acted with its neighbours to close down the so-called “Balkan Route” in recent months.
After supporting Berlin’s open-border policy and condemning Hungary’s hard line on migrants last year, the Vienna government came under growing domestic pressure to change path, after the far-right, migration-critical FPÖ pulled in front to become Austria’s most popular political party with more than one-third support in polls.
In February, Vienna announced a drastic migration crackdown, announcing it would process just 80 asylum applications daily.
It also imposed checks on more than a dozen border crossings and, in recent days, took measures that would enable it close the Brenner Pass from Italy. Those latest measures have caused upset in Rome and prompted weekend clashes in Brenner between protesters and police.
But Mr Faymann’s U-turn on migration failed to impress voters or halt the rise of the FPÖ; instead the populist party stepped up its calls to seal Austria’s borders.
The migration crisis catalysed a long decline in the fortunes of Mr Faymann – chancellor and SPÖ leader since 2008 – and in his grand coalition with the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP).
Last month’s presidential election disaster revived speculation about Mr Faymann’s future, but his speedy departure surprised well-placed party and union officials.
After a Monday morning meeting with powerful SPÖ regional leaders, Mr Faymann indicated that he no longer felt he had sufficent support to remain.
Despite his talk of a fresh start for Austria’s grand coalition government, the resignation could increase calls for a general election – two years ahead of schedule.
But Mr Faymann’s party knows that premature elections could prove an electoral disaster as analysis from the presidential election first round showed a massive shift in the SPÖ’s traditional working class vote to the FPÖ.
Its candidate, Norbert Hofer, won more than a third of the first-round vote two weeks ago and is confident of moving into the Hofburg presidential palace on May 22nd.
