Austria’s president seeks a solution after other parties say they won’t work with the far right

Associated Press

VIENNA (AP) — Austria’s president has asked the country’s three strongest political parties to hold talks on possible cooperation after an election won by the far-right Freedom Party. But he dispensed Wednesday with a tradition of giving the winner the task of trying to form the new government after others said they wouldn’t work with it. President Alexander Van der Bellen asked the three party leaders to report back to him at the end of next week. Whoever leads the next government will need to build a coalition to have a parliamentary majority. There is no formal deadline for forming a new government.