Vienna: The Austrian capital's Social
Democrats and Greens say they've agreed to form a coalition
government following recent elections that saw a surge in
support for the far-right.
The Social Democrats led by longtime mayor Michael
Haeupl got the most votes but lost their majority hold on
power in the October 10 poll that saw the right-wing Freedom
Party take second place with almost 26 per cent.
The heads of the two parties announced their agreement
- which still needs to be rubber-stamped by both sides -
today. Haeupl will remain Vienna's mayor and Maria Vassilakou
of the Greens, who grew up in Athens, will become his deputy.
Freedom Party chief Heinz-Christian Strache called the
agreement a "coalition of losers."
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 12, 2010, 21:46