Austrian liberal party quits coalition talks leaving negotiations in disarray

Surprise move by Neos raises doubts about viability of forming centrist government excluding far right

The smallest of three parties in talks to form Austria's next government has unexpectedly quit the negotiations, throwing into disarray an effort to form a centrist ruling coalition without the far-right Freedom party (FPO).

The surprise move by the liberal Neos party raised serious doubts about the future of the coalition talks and buoyed the Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO. The FPO has railed against those negotiations since it was shut out despite winning the last parliamentary election in September with 29% of the vote.