The collapse underscores the difficulty of forming stable governments in Europe, where the far right is on the rise, but many parties are loath to partner with them.

The leader of the anti-immigrant Freedom Party of Austria, founded by former Nazis in the 1950s, was expected to be asked to enter into talks to form a new government.

Austria's conservatives said Sunday they were ready to start negotiations with the far-right Freedom party (FPOe) to form a new government, a policy U-turn after coalition talks with two centrist parties failed.

Austria headed on Sunday towards coalition talks led by the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) after efforts to form a government without the party fell apart and prompted Chancellor Karl Nehammer to resign.

Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he’ll step down as head of government and chairman of the conservative People’s Party after failing to form a coalition government.

Representatives of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) met in the nation's chancellery for talks on Saturday after the failure of their discussions with a further party for a three-way coalition.

Austria's ruling conservatives picked Secretary-General Christian Stocker as interim successor to Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Austrian media reported on Sunday, after Nehammer quit as his attempts to form a coalition government without the far right fell apart.