Politics of Austria
Politics in Austria reflects the dynamics of competition among multiple political parties, which led to the formation of a Conservative-Green coalition government for the first time in January 2020, following the snap elections of 29 September 2019, and the election of a former Green Party leader to the presidency in 2016.
Austrian politics takes place within the constitutional framework of a federal semi-presidential republic, with a President serving as head of state and a Chancellor as head of government. Governments, both local and federal, exercise executive power. Federal legislative power is vested both in the Federal Government and in the two chambers of Parliament; the National Council and the Federal Council. The Judiciary of Austria is independent of the executive and legislative branches of government.
Following the end the Second World War and re-establishment of Austria as a sovereign state, the conservative Austrian People's Party and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria dominated politics and public life for decades, with only one additional party—the FPÖ—playing a significant role at the national level. More recently, the pattern of two-party dominance withered with the rise of newer parties, such as the Greens and the NEOS.
The ethnically and culturally heterogeneous nation-state of Austria is one of the many remnant states of Austria-Hungary, a vast multinational empire that ceased to exist in 1918. The Austrian Republic was preceded by a constitutional monarchy, whose legislative body was elected by, as The New York Times put it, "quasi-universal suffrage" for the first time in 1897.
Austria's first attempt at republican governance after the fall of the monarchy in 1918 was severely hampered by the crippling economic burden of war reparations required by the victorious Allies. Austria's First Republic made some pioneering reforms in the 1920s, particularly in Vienna, that served as models for the social-welfare states of post-World War I Europe. However, the Republic gradually developed into the Austrofascist dictatorship between 1933 and 1934 under Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, who was assassinated by Nazi party agents in 1934. The First Republic ended with the Anschluss to Nazi Germany in 1938. Following the defeat of the German Reich in 1945 Austria resumed its republican government, after it fully regained its independence from the occupying Allied Powers. Austria's political system after re-establishment of democracy and self-determination is referred to as the Second Republic.
The beginning of the 21st century marked, for Austria, a half-century of a stable government under a constitutional federal republican system. It is governed according to the principles of representative democracy and the rule of law. The constitutional framework of the politics of Austria and the marrow of the constitution's practical implementation are widely agreed to be robust and adequately conducive to peaceful change.
Austria was the 35th most electoral democratic country in the world in 2023 according to the V-Dem Democracy indices.
Constitution
Austria's constitution characterizes the republic as a federation consisting of nine autonomous federal states. Both the federation and all its states have written constitutions defining them as republican entities governed according to the principles of representative democracy. Aside from the fact that the states of Austria lack an independent judiciary on the one hand and that their autonomy is largely notional on the other hand, Austria's government structure resembles that of larger federal republics such as Germany.Executive branch
Head of State
Austria's head of state is the Federal President, elected by popular vote for a term of six years and limited to two consecutive terms of office. Former president Heinz Fischer was elected for a second term on 25 April 2010. He was succeeded by President Alexander Van der Bellen, who was elected on 4 December 2016. The office of the Federal President is largely ceremonial, although the constitution allows the president to dismiss the cabinet as a whole or to dissolve the National Council and call new elections.Head of Government
The Federal Chancellor is appointed by the Federal President. Although he is head of government, he has no power to direct other members of the government. Following the Ibiza affair, on 30 May 2019, President Van der Bellen appointed President of the Constitutional Court Brigitte Bierlein to serve as Federal Chancellor of a technocratic interim government until the formation and installation of a new political government following the parliamentary elections to be held later that year.Government
The federal cabinet consists of the Federal Chancellor appointed by the president and a number of ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor. The federal cabinet answers to the National Council and can be forced to resign through a motion of no confidence.Brigitte Bierlein's cabinet consisted of top civil servants '' and current and retired jurors. Clemens Jabloner was Vice-chancellor.
Based on the results of the 29 September 2019 National Council elections, in which the ÖVP emerged as the strongest party, the president asked Sebastian Kurz to form a new coalition government. Van der Bellen, formerly a leader of the Green Party, expressed the wish for high inclusion of women in the new cabinet. Women had parity in the caretaker government.
Legislative branch
The Parliament of Austria consists of two chambers. The National Council has 183 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation. It is the predominant one of the two chambers.To be represented in the National Council, a party needs to either win at least four percent of votes across the nation or win a seat in one of the 43 regional constituencies.
The Federal Council consists of 62 members and is less powerful. Its members are selected by the state legislatures. The apportionment of seats to the individual states is recalculated after each census. The power of the Federal Council is rather limited. In most cases it has only a suspensive veto, which can be overruled by the National Council. In some situations, however, such as for example legislation that imposes limits on the competences of the provinces, Federal Council approval is required.
The Federal Assembly, which is formed by National Council and Federal Council in joint session, is largely a ceremonial institution. Its main responsibility is the swearing-in of the Federal President. It can also call a referendum on the removal of the president from office or bring the president before the Constitutional Court if it concludes that the president violated the constitution, and is ultimately responsible for declaring war.
Following the accession to the European Union, Austria's parliament had to cede some of its power to European Union institutions.
A convention, the Austrian Convention, was established in 2003 to develop proposals for a reform of the Austrian constitution and central government institutions. It presented a report in 2007, with some of its proposals adopted by parliament.
Judicial branch
Direct democracy
Austria's legal system distinguished between three different instruments of direct democracy: referendums, popular initiatives and national opinion polls.A referendum on a bill is to be held if a majority of the National Council's members demand it or by a resolution of the President, which has to be counter-signed by all members of government. Also, substantial changes to the constitution always require a referendum, while changes to parts of the constitution only require a referendum if at least one third of the members of the National Council or if the Federal Council demands it. The result of a referendum is binding and the bill in question is not passed into law if a majority votes against it. Until now there have been two referendums in Austria, the most recent being on its entry into the European Union.
Popular initiatives can start a legislative process: if a popular initiative is signed by at least 100,000 registered voters, the National Council has to consider it. It takes precedence over all other matters on the National Council's agenda. As of 2010, 32 initiatives have taken place since their introduction in 1963.
National opinion polls or consultative referendums are held, unlike referendums, before the National Council passes a law. Its results are not legally binding. As of 2015, there has only been one national opinion poll.
Political parties
Austrian People's Party
The People's Party was founded by leaders of the former Christian Social Party in 1945 as a conservative/Centre-right party with loose ties to the Catholic Church. Between 1945 and 1970 it provided the Chancellor of Austria and since 1987 it has continuously been in government, its leader Wolfgang Schüssel serving as Chancellor between 2000 and 2007. It finds support from farmers, large and small business owners, and lay Catholic groups, but also from voters without party affiliation, with strongholds in the rural regions of Austria. In the nationwide elections in 2008 it finished second with 26% of the vote, the worst result in the party's history. Since 1991 the party is a member of the European People's Party.After the collapse of the ÖVP-led coalition government with the FPÖ, the ÖVP performed well in the snap elections held on 29 September 2019, gaining 9 additional seats, while support for the FPÖ dropped sharply, resulting in a loss of 20 seats. The President of Austria accordingly asked ÖVP leader Sebastian Kurz to commence coalition talks to form a new government.
A few days later, Kurz formed his second ruling coalition between his conservative ÖVP party and the Greens. In July 2020, the coalition set up its new center to deal with "political Islam" and its "dangerous ideology."