The argument between Austrian People’s Party (OVP) president Sebastian Kurz and Freedom Party (FPO) leader Norbert Hofer was the most interesting part of the debate organised by Austrian public TV channel ORF on Wednesday. The leaders of the six parties most likely to win seats in parliament took part in the debate, the V4 news agency reported.

They included Greens leader Werner Kogler, Social Democrat Pamela Rendi-Wagner, head of the liberal Neos Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Peter Pilz, who leads the left-wing formation Jetzt, as well as the parties of the coalition which was in government until late May, OVP president Sebastian Kurz, and his Freedom Party counterpart Norbert Hofer. “The clash of words between the former coalition partners was like a marriage counselling session, and it was focused on someone who was not even present: Herbert Kickl,” the Austrian newspaper Kurier pointed out.

The heads of the two largest parties often switched to addressing each other informally during the debate. This has led observers to the conclusion that if Interior Minister Herbert Kickl “had not been so stubborn”, the coalition of the People’s Party and the Freedom Party would almost certainly be reinstated in Austria after the elections on 29 September.

Sebastian Kurz explained that he would have continued the joint government after the “Ibiza scandal” in the middle of May, which led to the departure of the Vice-Chancellor Hans-Christian Strache and the end of the OVP-FPO coalition. In return, he requested that Kickl leave the interior ministry, which the FPO politician refused. At this point, Hofer defended his fellow party member: “Whoever wants to be successful at this position, they cannot be a pushover.”

Kurz stated that after the elections, he would thoroughly investigate “which wing of the FPO came out on top”, and he would only decide about the coalition “if it is clear who the boss is at FPO”. The former chancellor concluded the debate by saying that he aimed to follow “decent centre right politics” in Austria after his re-election.