Austrian president tasks centre-right, not far right, with forming govt

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA (Reuters) -Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Tuesday tasked Chancellor Karl Nehammer, head of the conservative People's Party (OVP), with forming a ruling coalition even though the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) won last month's general election.

The eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO won the election on Sept. 29 for the first time in its history. But with around 29% of the vote it would need to assemble a coalition to command a majority in parliament and form a government.

FPO leader Herbert Kickl has said he would be chancellor in an FPO-led government but other parties have ruled out governing with him. Van der Bellen, who oversees the formation of governments, said parties had stood by their positions on that.

"The parliamentary election on Sept. 29 is not a race in which the party that crosses the finish line first automatically gets to form the government," the 80-year-old president said in a televised address.

"If a party wants to govern alone, it must clear the 50% hurdle. It is not sufficient to reach 10, 20 or 30%."

Van der Bellen, a former leader of the left-wing Greens who has expressed reservations about Kickl entering government on his watch, has argued he does not need to follow the convention of asking the winner to form a ruling coalition because it is unprecedented that no other party wants to govern with it.

Kickl, however, has said it would be undemocratic for his party not to enter government and warned against other parties forming a "coalition of losers" excluding it.

"I am ... tasking Karl Nehammer, leader of the second-biggest party in parliament, with forming a government," Van der Bellen said, adding that Nehammer should hold talks with the third-placed Social Democrats (SPO). To come together they would need to overcome significant policy differences on issues like taxing the rich.

Together the OVP and SPO would have a majority of just one seat, which is widely viewed as impractical. Van der Bellen said they would have to clarify whether that would be stable or whether a third, smaller party would be needed.

Many believe a third party like the liberal Neos would have to join the alliance to make it work.

Nehammer's office said he would issue a statement to the media at 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT).

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Hugh Lawson)