- Three centrist parties announced coalition deal last week
- Neos members had to approve the deal to join government
- Had they not, coalition would have had one-seat majority
- Government to be sworn in on Monday after historic wait
VIENNA, March 2 (Reuters) - Members of Austria’s liberal Neos party on Sunday voted overwhelmingly in favour of a coalition deal with the conservative People’s Party (OVP) and Social Democrats (SPO), paving the way for their three-party government to take office.
The vote was the last remaining obstacle to the planned alliance. The government is due to be sworn in on Monday at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT), five months after a parliamentary election the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) won with around 29% of the vote.
It will end the longest wait for a government in Austria since World War Two. The same centrist parties initially tried to form a coalition government without the FPO but that bid collapsed in January. The eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO then led an effort that failed last month.