Reuters —Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen tasked the leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) on Monday with forming a coalition government after a centrist bid to assemble one without the FPO collapsed unexpectedly over the weekend. That task fell to the conservative People’s Party (OVP) and its leader Chancellor Karl Nehammer. OVP now open to talksNehammer had long insisted his party would not govern with Kickl, saying the FPO leader was a conspiracy theorist and security threat. His interim successor as OVP leader, Christian Stocker, said on Sunday his party would join coalition talks led by Kickl. Van der Bellen has repeatedly said he will remain vigilant to ensure “cornerstones of democracy” including human rights, independent media and Austria’s membership of the European Union are respected.

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Persons: Alexander Van der Bellen, Herbert Kickl, Van der Bellen, “, ” Van der Bellen, Kickl, ”, Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Nehammer’s, Nehammer, Christian Stocker, Wilfried Haslauer, Stocker Organizations: Reuters, Austrian, Party, Greens, People’s Party, SS, Jewish, OVP, ORF, of Commerce, Ukraine, Russia, European Locations: Russia, Austria, Salzburg, European Union