[7] Before the leadership meeting, all five parliamentary parties met for a so-called Österreich-Gespräch ("Austria talk") proposed by the ÖVP, in which they tried to find common ground on possible legislative issues which would require a two-thirds majority;[8] the parties' leaders talked mostly about the global financial crisis and agreed to continue the Österreich-Gespräch at a later date.
The composition of the negotiation teams was announced on 16 October 2008:[11] Reportedly, the SPÖ was seeking to trade the justice ministry for the health ministry, with justice minister Berger returning to the European Parliament and Upper Austrian SPÖ leader Erich Haider becoming health minister.
[15] On 6 November 2008, the SPÖ and the ÖVP agreed on the time (by March 2009) and volume (€2.7 billions) of the tax reform, clearing the way for another grand coalition.
[20] According to a report from 19 November 2008, it was seen as certain that Bures would become infrastructure minister, Schmied and Darabos would stay on in their current ministries, ÖGB president Rudolf Hundstorfer would become social and labour minister (taking over the labour agenda from the economics ministry), Schieder would remain state secretary and that either the chairman of the Upper Austrian Regional Health Insurance (Oberösterreichischen Gebietskrankenkasse) Alois Stöger or the finance city councillor of Linz Johann Mayr would become health minister.
Lower Austrian state councillor Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek was seen as the most likely women's minister, with Styrian MP Elisabeth Grossmann also a possibility.
One of the most important negotiators on Pröll's side, Karl-Heinz Kopf, would likely become chief of the parliamentary party, and Reinhold Mitterlehner would most likely become economics minister.
[21] The coalition negotiations were reported to end on 23 November 2008, with the leadership committees of the SPÖ and the ÖVP expected to approve the deal in the following week.
Erich Foglar, chief of the union Metals–Textiles–Food, was announced as Hundstorfer's successor as ÖGB president on 24 November 2008,[33] and the ÖVP announced Karlheinz Kopf as their new chief of the parliamentary party and unionist Fritz Neugebauer as their nominee for the post of second president of the National Council on 25 November 2008.