Eurosceptic chancellor to take lead in Austria[fr][de] 

A 200-page coalition agreement indicates that the government will fall if one party decides to push for a referendum on a new EU treaty. The Austrian Parliament ratified the Lisbon Treaty in April 2008 amid calls for a referendum from the right-wing opposition. 

The prospective new chancellor, Werner Faymann (SPÖ), insists that a nationwide referendum should be held on any new EU treaty. But his future Deputy Chancellor Joseph Proell (ÖVP) insists that no referendum should occur against his party's will. 

A new EU treaty referendum may not yet be in sight, but the issue triggered the collapse of the previous SPÖ-ÖVP coalition in June 2008, along with the resignation of Social Democrat Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer. Elections in September 2008 weakened both major parties and marked a surge for the two far-right parties, which together obtained 28% of the vote. The SPÖ obtained 29%, while the ÖVP received 26%. 

The SPÖ and ÖVP hold more than 50% of the vote, but the conservatives are internally divided. Some are calling for an alliance with the far right similar to the one forged in February 2000, which triggered unprecedented sanctions from the EU against a member country. 

Faymann is known as a eurosceptic prepared to push his party into uncharted waters. He benefited from the support of Austria's tabloid press due to the party's promise to put the future of the EU to a popular vote. He served as transport and infrastructure minister under the previous Gusenbauer government. Faymann never finished university and has never held a job outside politics.