HELL OR HIGH WATER
And there is a new alternative - the resurgent Greens, who are polling around 13%, buoyed by the fact the environment has shot to the top of Austrians' concerns.
But with that party on the left of the political spectrum, it could be a hard deal to strike, and for both to sell to their bases even though they govern together in some provinces. To complicate matters further, they would likely bring in the liberal Neos party to give them a stable majority.
Allying with the Social Democrats (SPO), the party with which the OVP shared power for decades, is mathematically possible but unlikely as there is no love lost between Kurz and the SPO leadership.
"He basically has the choice between plague, cholera and maybe also Ebola," political analyst Thomas Hofer said of Kurz's options.
A three-way tie-up with the Greens and Neos would at least be a first, since neither has been in national government before. That would fit with Kurz's self-branding as a moderniser, despite much of his agenda being conservative orthodoxy.
For the Neos, who are polling around 8%, there is common ground with Kurz on business-friendly policies. Like the Greens, however, they want to overhaul fiscal policy to tackle climate change, and the Greens have little in common with Kurz on many issues, including immigration and social policy.
"It is a difficult and very risky option," Hofer said, pointing to the need for the smaller parties to show concrete results as junior partners, and the fragility of a three-way tie-up.
The Greens have not ruled out a coalition with Kurz. But neither side will be drawn further for now.
"We are not speculating about ministries or coalitions," Kurz told Reuters at his rally.
