The Austrian government is undergoing yet another upheaval. Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner announced his resignation on May 10, citing the worsening friction within his Austrian People's Party as the reason for his exit. The departure will only further destabilize the country's fragile government, which has been weakened in recent months by infighting, sluggish economic growth, a refugee crisis and tension among members of the ruling coalition.
The past year has been a rocky one for Vienna. In May 2016, the government jointly led by the center-right Austrian People's Party and the center-left Social Democratic Party had to weather the resignation of Chancellor Werner Faymann, who blamed his fellow Social Democrats for a lack of support. Then in December, right-wing populist Norbert Hofer, representing the Freedom Party, raked in 46 percent of the vote in the second round of Austria's presidential election, losing by a slim margin to Greens candidate Alexander Van der Bellen. The presidential race was the country's first since World War II in which neither the People's Party nor the Social Democrats made it to the runoff, signaling the public's dissatisfaction with the country's traditional parties.
Austria's next general elections aren't scheduled to be held until late 2018, but Mitterlehner's resignation will open the door for an early vote, should the ruling coalition collapse. The far-right Freedom Party is currently polling at around 29 percent, though the Social Democrats and Austrian People's Party aren't far behind at 28 and 21 percent respectively. In theory, the two moderate parties could renew their coalition after the vote and prevent their far-right rival from entering the government. But forming an alliance with the Freedom Party is not taboo in Austrian politics. From 2000 to 2005, the Freedom Party was a junior member of the Austrian government — a bittersweet experience for its members, since the European Union temporarily cut back its diplomatic and political contacts with Vienna to protest the party's inclusion in the coalition. The Freedom Party also backed several unpopular economic reforms that angered the electorate and reduced its popularity.
This time, however, the Freedom Party may become the senior member of the next ruling coalition if it wins the elections, an outcome that will be welcomed even less in Brussels. The party has long been critical of the European Union, and its leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, has said Austria should hold a referendum on its membership in the bloc if Brussels pushes for more centralized decision-making. The party has also taken a tough stance on immigration and is critical of EU negotiations with Turkey, positions that have already influenced the policies of Vienna's moderate government.
Of course, Austria is unlikely to leave the European Union any time soon. The country depends on exports to the bloc and most of its citizens support membership in it. But if the Freedom Party comes to power, the divisions within the European Union will deepen as Austria's new administration resists closer ties to the bloc and demands the repatriation of powers to EU members.
