Some Social Democrats have argued for a minority government instead, but neither Mr Faymann nor the federal president, Heinz Fischer, is thought to favour such an experiment.

ECONOMIST: Austria's election

The Forum saw the participation also of the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Atiya, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister, Manuel Chavez, President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, President of Germany, Christian Wulff and a representative of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

UNESCO: Communication and Information