VIENNA (Reuters) -The three Austrian parties in the so-called "sounding out" phase of talks on forming a new government have agreed to launch full-scale coalition talks, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who is leading the process, said on Monday.
The far-right Freedom Party (FPO) came first in September's parliamentary election but, with around 29% of the vote, it would have needed a coalition partner to control a majority of seats in parliament and establish a government.
Since no partner was forthcoming, President Alexander Van der Bellen tasked Nehammer, as leader of the second-placed People's Party, with forming a government without the FPO.
He plans to form the first three-way coalition since Austria's regained independence in 1955 after the withdrawal of post-war allied occupation forces, with the Social Democrats (SPO) and liberal Neos.
"We have completed the sounding-out phase and are formally beginning coalition talks with the SPO and the Neos," Nehammer told a joint news conference with the other parties' leaders.
The move means talks will shift from a handful of officials from each party to breaking down the discussions by subject, each with their own teams.
It remains unclear how long the talks will last. Nehammer has repeatedly said a long and "rocky" road lies ahead in the Alpine republic. He added on Monday that they would be as short as possible but as long as necessary.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; editing by Toby Chopra and Mark Heinrich)
