FILE PHOTO: Austrian politician Sebastian Kurz speaks during the EPP congress in Arena Zagreb hall in Zagreb, Croatia, November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic/File Photo
January 1, 2020
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian conservative leader Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday reached a coalition deal with the Greens to ensure his return to power and bring the left-wing party into government for the first time, a Greens spokeswoman and a source close to the talks said.
The deal comes three months after Kurz’s party clearly won a parliamentary election on Sept. 29 with 37.5% of the vote, requiring a coalition partner to command a majority in the lower house. The Greens finished fourth with 13.9%. Kurz and his Greens counterpart will issue statements later in the evening.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by David Gregorio)