They are particularly strong in the city areas, for example in Vienna, where they received 22% of the votes in the 2004 EU-elections. The other parliamentary parties are Austrian Social Democratic Party, the Austrian Freedom Party and NEOS. 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. Das politische System der Republik Österreich beruht auf den Grundsätzen der Demokratie, der republikanischen Staatsform, des Bundesstaates, des Rechtsstaates, der Gewaltenteilung, des liberalen Prinzips und der Zugehörigkeit zur Europäischen Union. An der Spitze des Staates steht ein Präsident, der alle 6 Jahre direkt vom Volk gewählt wird. In Neubau they received 41% of the votes, more than SPÖ and ÖVP combined. After being reduced to 10% in the 2002 elections, they achieved 17.5% in 2008. The Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) is appointed by the Federal President. The Austrian People's Party and The Greens – The Green Alternative formed a coalition government on 1 January 2020, marking the first time the Greens have gained power. [13], 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. The SPÖ, which was the strongest party in the 1999 elections, and the Greens now form the opposition. The party is a member of the Socialist International and the Party of European Socialists. Die Regeln für Politik in Österreich sind vor allem in der österreichischen Bundesverfassung festgeschrieben. Elections in September 2008 further weakened both major parties, Social Democrats and People's Party, but together they still hold more than 50% of the votes with the Social Democrats holding the majority. In most cases it has only has a suspensive veto, which can be overruled by the National Council. [38], One commentator, Betsy Hartmann, has raised the specter that this right-wing coalition with environmentalism may lead to a "nightmare scenario" of Eco-Fascism. Both the federation and all its states have written constitutions defining them as republican entities governed according to the principles of representative democracy. Austrian politics takes place within the constitutional framework of a federal parliamentary republic, with a President (Bundespräsident) serving as head of state and a Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) as head of government. Österreich ist eine parlamentarische Republik und basiert auf den Grundsätzen der Demokratie und der Gewaltentrennung. Austrian Political System; the term covers all governmental and non-governmental institutions, persons, rules and procedures that play a role in politics, in interaction with the social system. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for, Note: preferences and languages are saved separately in https mode. This coalition broke up again in June 2008. It suffered heavy losses in the 2019 National Council elections, ending up with a dozen seats fewer than in the previous legislative session. The result of a referendum is binding and the bill in question is not passed into law if a majority votes against it. [28] This surprising success raises the possibility that the SPÖ could reverse recent setbacks at the national level likewise, if it steered a more pragmatic course like Doskozil had done as Governor of Burgenland.[29]. The National Council (Nationalrat) has 183 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation. 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. Women had parity in the caretaker government.[6]. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Austria a "full democracy" in 2019.[2]. Der oberste Repräsentant des Staates ist der Bundespräsident, dessen Amtsperiode sechs Jahre dauert. Due to the surge of the right at the last elections, many speculated that any government coalition would include at least one of the two far-right parties. The People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, or ÖVP, since rebranded Die Neue Volkspartei[15]) was found by leaders of the former Christian Social Party in 1945 as a conservative/Centre-right party with loose ties to the Catholic Church. Since World War II, Austria has enjoyed political stability. It expelled its longtime leader H-C Strache, who set up his own party to run in the 2020 Vienna local elections, but failed to reach the 5% threshold to sit in the city parliament.[34]. Government, Parliament, Constitution and other information about the political system. The Federal Constitution, the State Treaty, the Declaration of Neutrality and the EU Accession Agreement form the constitutional basis of the Republic. The Social Democratic Party of Austria emerged as the strongest party in the 2006 elections forming a government with the Austrian People's Party, SPÖ party leader Alfred Gusenbauer becoming the new Chancellor. The tables turned in 1970, when the SPÖ became the strongest party for the first time, winning an absolute majority under its charismatic leader Bruno Kreisky in 1971. Both Greens and Social Democrats gained votes, but not enough to form a coalition with only 85 of 183 seats. Their strong showing, combined with the steep losses of the scandal-ridden FPÖ, made them a possible coalition partner for the People's Party, which had won the largest number of votes and seats of all parties with Sebastian Kurz as its candidate to become Chancellor of Austria for the second time. {{::mainImage.info.license.name || 'Unknown'}}, {{current.info.license.usageTerms || current.info.license.name || current.info.license.detected || 'Unknown'}}, Uploaded by: {{current.info.uploadUser}} on {{current.info.uploadDate | date:'mediumDate'}}. It received 3.65% of the vote in the 1999 election and thus failed to pass the 4% threshold necessary for representation in the lower house of parliament (Nationalrat). [24] It finished first in the National Council election of 2008 with 29.3% of the vote. You can find out more about them and your rights as a user of the website in our privacy statement at the end of the page. The USA and Israel, as well as various other countries, also reduced contacts with the Austrian Government. [17] Since 1991 the party is a member of the European People's Party.[18]. [35], A snap election in 2008 saw both government parties losing votes, however, the coalition between SPÖ and ÖVP was renewed, with Werner Faymann, the new leader of the SPÖ, following Alfred Gusenbauer as Chancellor.[36]. After major disputes inside the FPÖ between Haider and vice-chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer (the so-called Knittelfeld Putsch), the ÖVP broke the coalition in 2002 and called for re-elections. He was succeeded by President Alexander Van der Bellen, who was elected on 4 December 2016. Despite being exposed to fierce criticism from the opposition parties for failed or highly unfavorable privatization deals, the highest tax rates and unemployment figures since 1945, a questionable fighter jet purchase and repeated accusations that Finance Minister Grasser may have evaded taxes, the government seems to be the most stable in decades as both parties are afraid of losing votes. 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. Between 1970 and 1999, it governed the country either alone or with a junior partner, and all but two of the Presidents of Austria since 1945 have either been members of the SPÖ or nominated by it. Van der Bellen, formerly a leader of the Green Party, expressed the wish for high inclusion of women in the new cabinet. Dennoch gab es mehrere Gesetze die in der gesamten Donaumonarchie Gültigkeit besaßen. Die wichtigsten vier Grundsätze sind: → Österreich ist eine Demokratie Demokratie bedeutet, dass das Volk bzw. The Liberal Forum (Liberales Forum, or LIF), founded on libertarian ideals, split from the FPÖ in February 1993. The NOES achieved their best result ever in the 2019 National Council elections, with 8.1% of the votes and 15 seats, a gain of five seats over the previous elections in 2017, but this number was insufficient to qualify them as a viable junior coalition party with the leading ÖVP. Recent law changes concerning the police, the national television and radio company, the federal railways and the social security system have led to an increase of the ÖVP's and FPÖ's influence in these bodies. In a brilliant marketing move, Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel convinced the then very popular Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser to change from the FPÖ to the ÖVP. Austria has been a member of the European Union since 1st January 1995. [11], Austria's legal system distinguished between three different instruments of direct democracy: referenda (Volksabstimmungen), popular initiatives (Volksbegehren) and national opinion polls (Volksbefragungen). 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. After being reduced to under 1% in the 2002 election, they disappeared almost completely from public view, receiving 2.1% of the votes in 2008. [9], The Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung), which is formed by National Council and Federal Council in joint session, is largely a ceremonial institution. The Parliament of Austria (Parlament) consists of two chambers. Der Bundeskanzler ist der Chef der Exekutive und steht dem Bundeskabinett vor. In 1955 Austria passed the Declaration of Neutrality declaring the country permanently neutral, on which Austria based her foreign policy from then on. It thus lost all of its seats in the National Council, but made a spectacular comeback in snap elections of September 2019, with a vote share of 13.9% and 25 seats. Against public opinion, which was in favour of an ÖVP-SPÖ coalition government, Chancellor Schüssel renewed the coalition between the ÖVP and FPÖ. [7] It is the predominant one of the two chambers. Die beiden Kammern des Parlaments sind der Nationalrat und der Bundesrat. In that election, the conservative People's Party (ÖVP) obtained 50% of the vote (85 seats) in the National Council, the Socialists won 45% (76 seats), and the communists won 5% (4 seats). You can then share selected content or create a printable PDF. After negotiations with the ÖVP were successfully concluded Alfred Gusenbauer and his SPÖ-ÖVP coalition government were sworn in on 11 January 2007, by President Heinz Fischer. [27], In January, 2020 the SPÖ received almost 50% of the votes in regional elections in the State of Burgenland under the leadership of Hans Peter Doskozil, which gave him an absolute majority of seats in the Landtag, and allows him to govern without the support of a junior coalition partner. The Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, or FPÖ) is a right-wing populist political party that was founded in 1955 as a successor to the Federation of Independents. In the 1990s, it started viewing privatization of nationalised industries more openly, after large losses of state owned enterprises came to light. More recently, the pattern of two-party dominance withered with the rise of newer parties, such as the Greens and the NEOS. Originally having a high following among blue-collar workers, it sought to expand its focus on middle class and white-collar workers in the late 1950s. Die Bundesländer haben einerseits ihre lokalen Aufgaben, andererseits nehmen sie auch Aufga-ben der mittelbaren Bundesverwaltung wahr. In 2013 the LIF made a party alliance with the centre-right liberal NEOS for the legislative election and entered into the National Council.