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(Bloomberg) — More than three months after winning the most seats at federal elections, far-right leader Herbert Kickl is on track to become the Freedom Party’s first Austrian chancellor in a tie-up with the conservative People’s Party.

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Kickl, 56, is set to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen at 11 a.m. in Vienna on Monday to discuss forming a government. In an about-face, the conservatives said on Sunday they’re ready to start talking. 

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A Kickl government would be the first led by the far-right party in post-World War Two Austria. The People’s Party has for decades sought to keep it at bay by forming coalitions with the Social Democrats and other groups, or by inviting its members to participate as junior partners.  

This time, the conservatives have been forced to yield, shocking Austria’s political establishment. The Freedom Party won 57 seats in Austria’s September election, up 26 from 2019, against the People’s Party’s 51, a loss of 20. Its overall share of the vote jumped almost 13 points. 

At that point, Austria’s other parties attempted to close ranks to keep the Freedom Party out of government – a “Kickl prevention strategy,” according to the party’s leader. Yet Karl Nehammer, chancellor since late 2021, resigned on Saturday after failing to nail down a coalition with the Social Democrats and the liberal NEOS. His interim successor, party secretary Christian Stocker, quickly said he was ready to discuss a coalition with the Freedom Party.

The change in position was an admission of the party’s dwindling public support, as well as Nehammer’s failure to lure voters following the downfall of one-time political prodigy Sebastian Kurz. Powerful provincial leaders and a faction of industrialists had also pushed for aligning with the far right.

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“Since yesterday, the situation looks different,” Stocker, until recently a sharp critic of the Freedom Party, said on Sunday. “This country needs a stable government right now and we cannot keep losing time in election campaigns.”  

The chances of a Freedom Party-People’s Party coalition have increased significantly, but aren’t a foregone conclusion, said Marcus How, a geopolitical risk analyst at VE Insight in Vienna. 

“Kickl holds most of the cards, and can therefore afford to be maximalist in his negotiating stance,” How said. “If the negotiations fail, he can simply lean back and fight an election which the polls indicate would bring further landslide gains” for the Freedom Party. 

Kickl’s a divisive figure in the nation of about 9 million, polling as one of the least-liked politicians while at the same time leading his party to the cusp of victory. In the past, he’s publicly referred to Van der Bellen, 80, as a “senile mummy.” When he served as interior minister, some foreign intelligence agencies stopped sharing information because of their level of mistrust. 

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The Freedom Party has campaigned on a pro-Russian, anti-immigrant and climate-skeptic platform. Kickl also aggressively opposed a vaccine mandate during the pandemic, and supported far-right activists promoting the mass deportation of immigrants.

In Europe, it would bring another populist leader into power as Donald Trump prepares to take over the US presidency, Germany readies for elections in February featuring an ascendant right wing, and France grapples with political gridlock. Kickl has also vowed to cooperate with Viktor Orban, the often-controversial prime minister neighboring Hungary. 

To become chancellor, Kickl will need to reconcile his political views with the conservatives, who continue to hold powerful positions across Austria’s economy and society.

Austria’s new leaders also need to confront serious headwinds for the nation’s industrial producers following years of high wage growth and rising energy prices hurt competitiveness. And after two years of economic contraction, Austria will also need to approve billions of euros in budget consolidating measures to avoid European Union penalties.

In a statement on Sunday, Kickl said his policy focus would be on affordable living, recognizing personal achievement, justice, security and peace, as well as the protection of the homeland, freedom, and providing a good perspective for future generations.

“We bear no responsibility for wasted time, chaotic conditions and the enormous erosion of trust,” Kickl said Sunday on Facebook. “Clearly, the Freedom Party has been and is the only stable point in Austrian politics.”

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