Following a meeting with Chancellor Karl Nehammer and other officials at the presidential palace, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen announced Sunday he will meet with far-right Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl amid speculation he may task Kickl with forming a government.

This announcement comes after Nehammer, whose intention to resign followed the collapse of coalition talks between his conservative Austrian People’s Party and the center-left Social Democrats, ruled out working with Kickl. However, others within his party hold less firm views. While the People’s Party appointed Christian Stocker as interim leader earlier Sunday, Van der Bellen stated Nehammer remains chancellor for now.

Van der Bellen reported spending hours speaking with key figures, noting a shift in sentiment within the People’s Party: resistance to collaborating with Kickl’s Freedom Party has lessened. This development, he explained, has created a “potentially new path,” leading to Monday’s meeting with Kickl.

Despite securing 29.2% of the vote in the autumn’s election—the highest percentage of any party—the Freedom Party was initially bypassed in government formation because other parties were unwilling to cooperate with Kickl. Van der Bellen’s decision prompted strong criticism from the Freedom Party and its supporters, with Kickl stating in October that this outcome was “not right and not logical.”

“We are not responsible for the wasted time, the chaotic situation and the enormous breach of trust that has emerged,” Kickl stated Sunday on social media. “On the contrary: It is clear that the Freedom Party has been and continues to be the only stable factor in Austrian politics.”

Addressing reporters Sunday afternoon, Stocker confirmed his unanimous appointment as interim party leader, expressing his honor and pleasure. He welcomed the president’s meeting with Kickl, expressing anticipation that the party with the most votes would now be entrusted with government formation. “If we are invited to negotiations to form a government, we will accept this invitation,” Stocker added.

It is noteworthy that Stocker has previously criticized Kickl, labeling him a “security risk.”

The Freedom Party’s election platform, “Fortress Austria,” advocates for the “remigration of uninvited foreigners,” aiming for a more “homogeneous” nation through strict border controls and suspension of asylum rights via emergency law.

The party also seeks an end to sanctions against Russia, strongly opposes Western military aid to Ukraine, and wishes to withdraw from the European Sky Shield Initiative. Furthermore, despite a 2016 friendship agreement with Putin’s United Russia Party (which they now claim has expired), Kickl has criticized “elites” in Brussels and called for certain powers to be returned from the EU to Austria.

Austria’s political turmoil intensified on Friday when the liberal Neos party withdrew from coalition talks involving the People’s Party and Social Democrats. A subsequent attempt by the two remaining parties—holding a one-seat parliamentary majority—to form a government on Saturday failed after several hours due to disagreement on addressing the budget deficit.