GOVERNMENT
The Austrian president convenes and concludes parliamentary sessions
and under certain conditions can dissolve Parliament. However,
no Austrian president has dissolved Parliament in the Second Republic.
The custom is for Parliament to call for new elections if needed.
The president requests a party leader, usually the leader of the
strongest party, to form a government. Upon the recommendation
of the Federal Chancellor, the president also appoints cabinet
ministers.
The Federal Assembly (Parliament) consists of two houses--the National Council (Nationalrat), or lower house, and the Federal Council (Bundesrat), or upper house. Legislative authority resides in the National Council. Its 183 members serve for a maximum term of four years in a three-tiered system, on the basis of proportional representation. The National Council may dissolve itself by a simple majority vote or the president may dissolve it on the recommendation of the Chancellor. The nine state legislatures elect the 62 members of the Federal Council for 5- to 6-year terms. The Federal Council only reviews legislation passed by the National Council and can delay but not veto its enactment.
The
highest courts of Austria's independent judiciary are the Constitutional
Court; the Administrative Court, which handles bureaucratic disputes;
and the Supreme Court, for civil and criminal cases. While the
Supreme Court is the court of highest instance for the judiciary,
the Administrative Court acts as the supervisory body over government
administrative acts of the executive branch, and the Constitutional
Court presides over constitutional issues. Justices of the three
courts are appointed by the president for specific terms.
The
legislatures of Austria's nine Laender (states) elect the governors.
Although most authority, including that of the police, rests with
the federal government, the states have considerable responsibility
for welfare matters and local administration. Strong state and
local loyalties have roots in tradition and history.
POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
Since World War II, Austria has enjoyed political stability. A
Socialist elder statesman, Dr. Karl Renner, organized an Austrian
administration in the aftermath of the war, and the country held
general elections in November 1945. All three major parties –
the conservative People’s Party (OVP), the Socialists (later
Social Democratic party or SPO), and Communists – governed
until 1947, when the Communists left the government. The OVP then
led a governing coalition with the SPO that governed until 1966.
Between 1970 and 1999, the SPO governed the country either alone or with junior coalition partners. In 1999, the OVP formed a coalition with the right wing, populist Freedom Party (FPO). The SPO, which was the strongest party in the 1999 elections, and the Greens formed the opposition. The FPO had gained support because of populist tactics, and many feared it would represent right wing extremism. As a result, the European Union (EU) imposed a series of sanctions on Austria. The U.S. and Israel, as well as various other countries, also reduced contacts with the Austrian Government. After a period of close observation, the EU lifted sanctions, and the U.S. revised its contacts policy. In the 2002 elections, the OVP became the largest party, and the FPO's strength declined by more than half. Nevertheless, the OVP renewed its coalition with the FPO in February 2003. In national elections in October 2006, the SPO became the largest party, edging the OVP. On January 11, 2007, an SPO-led Grand Coalition took office, with the OVP as junior partner. In July 2008, following months of dispute between the ruling parties, the coalition collapsed when Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer (OVP) called for early elections. New elections were held on September 28, 2008, and resulted in the formation of another grand coalition between the SPO and OVP.
The Social Democratic Party traditionally draws its constituency from blue- and white-collar workers. Accordingly, much of its strength lies in urban and industrialized areas. In the 2008 national elections, it garnered 29.7% of the vote. In the past, the SPO advocated state involvement in Austria's key industries, the extension of social security benefits, and a full-employment policy. Beginning in the mid-1980s, it shifted its focus to free market-oriented economic policies, balancing the federal budget, and European Union membership.
The People's Party advocates conservative financial policies and privatization of much of Austria's nationalized industry. It finds support from farmers, large and small business owners, and some lay Catholic groups, mostly in the rural regions of Austria. In 2008, it received 25.6% of the vote. The Greens won 9.8% of the vote in 2008, losing ground to become the smallest party in parliament.
Both of Austria’s far-right parties have seen their popularity increase in recent years. The rightist Freedom Party (FPO) traditionally had a base in classic European liberalism. However, after losing much of its support in the 2002 elections and suffering a split, the FPO adopted a populist, anti-immigration platform, and has recovered much of its pre-2002 support. Joerg Haider, the charismatic former leader of the FPO, split from the party in 2005 to form the Alliance-Future-Austria (BZO). All of the FPO's Federal Ministers and most of its parliamentarians joined the BZO, and that party formally became the junior partner in the governing coalition. The BZO was unable to draw significant popular support away from the FPO, but managed to enter parliament in 2006 with 4.1% of the vote. In the 2008 elections, both far-right parties made significant gains, with the FPO earning 18.0% of the vote, up from 11% in 2006, and the BZO taking 11.0%, up from 4.1%.
Though the OVP entertained the idea of forming a coalition with the two far-right parties in the initial aftermath of the 2008 election, this possibility did not come to fruition. Joerg Haider, whose personal popularity and charisma were seen as crucial to the BZO’s success, died in a traffic accident in October 2008 during the early phases of coalition negotiations. Absent Haider’s leadership, the party’s future remains largely uncertain, and thus the OVP abandoned the idea of a coalition with the BZO and FPO, choosing instead to join a new grand coalition as the junior partners of the SPO.
Type: Federal Parliamentary democracy.
Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated May 1, 1945).
Branches: Executive--federal president (chief of state), chancellor (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral Federal Assembly (Parliament). Judicial--Constitutional Court, Administrative Court, Supreme Court.
Political parties: Social Democratic Party, People's Party, Freedom Party, Greens, Alliance--Future-Austria.
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
Administrative subdivisions: Nine Bundeslander (federal states).
Defense (2007): 0.8% of GDP.
Principal
Government Officials
Federal President--Heinz Fischer
Federal Chancellor--Werner Faymann
Vice Chancellor--Josef Proell
Foreign Minister--Michael Spindelegger
Ambassador to the United States--vacant
Ambassador to the United Nations--Thomas Mayr-Harting
Austria
maintains an embassy in
the United States at 3524 International Court, NW, Washington,
DC 20008 (tel. 202-895-6700).
