Austria's Socialist Policies: A Comprehensive Overview

Austria has enjoyed political stability since World War II, with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) dominating politics and public life for decades. The Social Democratic Party of Austria, founded in 1889, is the country's oldest extant political party and is currently the second-largest of five parties in the National Council. The SPÖ has close ties with the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK). It is a member of the Progressive Alliance and Party of European Socialists and holds seats in the legislatures of all nine states. The KPÖ, or Communist Party of Austria, is another socialist party in the country that has recently gained traction, winning elections in the country's second-largest city, Graz, and placing second in Salzburg and Innsbruck.

The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)

The SPÖ has played a significant role in Austrian politics and public life for decades. It has governed the country several times, both alone and in coalition with other parties. The party first came into power in 1945 as a junior partner in a coalition with the ÖVP. In 1970, the SPÖ became the largest party in the country for the first time in post-war history, and Bruno Kreisky became Chancellor. The SPÖ led a grand coalition with the ÖVP from 1987 to 2000 and returned to power again from 2007 to 2017. From 2017 to 2025, the SPÖ was the primary opposition party to the ÖVP-led governments. Since 2025, it has once again governed as a junior partner to the ÖVP.

The SPÖ has a history of supporting workers' rights and social policies. In the early 20th century, the party campaigned for more rights for workers, including their right to vote. During the interwar period, the SPÖ envisioned the creation of a new international movement that would bring together different currents of socialism. From 1919 to 1934, the Social Democrats controlled the Vienna municipality, implementing ambitious policies such as a vast program of construction of workers' housing and the introduction of free medical care.

The SPÖ holds seats in the legislatures of all nine states in Austria and is the largest party in three: Burgenland, Carinthia, and Vienna. It is supportive of Austria's membership in the European Union and has close ties to the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK). The party has five members in the European Parliament, sitting with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)

The ÖVP was founded immediately after the restoration of the Republic of Austria in 1945, as an unofficial successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1945 Austrian legislative election, the ÖVP won almost half of the popular vote and an absolute majority in the legislature. The party has consistently been the strongest or second-strongest party in the Federal Assembly and has led or been a partner in most Austrian federal cabinets.

The ÖVP remained in a coalition with the SPÖ until 1966 and governed alone from 1966 to 1970. The party re-entered government in 1986 and has never been completely out of power since 1945. In 1999, the ÖVP formed a coalition government with the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).

In 2013, the ÖVP suffered minor losses in the Austrian legislative election. However, in 2017, the party changed its image under Sebastian Kurz, adopting the colour turquoise and the alternate name, The New People's Party. The ÖVP became the largest party after the 2017 election and formed a coalition with the FPÖ. This coalition collapsed due to the Ibiza affair, leading to the 2019 election, after which the ÖVP formed a new coalition with The Greens.

In the snap elections of September 2019, the ÖVP gained nine additional seats, while support for the FPÖ dropped sharply. Sebastian Kurz then formed his second ruling coalition between his conservative ÖVP party and the Greens.

The Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ)

In the first provisional government under Karl Renner following Austria's independence, the KPÖ held seven seats. The party chairman, Johann Koplenig, became vice-chancellor, and other communists, Franz Honner and Ernst Fischer, took on ministerial roles. However, Renner also appointed two powerful undersecretaries with anti-communist views to each ministry, limiting the KPÖ's influence. The KPÖ criticised the post-war "capitalistic reconstruction at the expense of the working class" and rejected the Marshall Plan, aligning themselves with the Soviet Union.

In the first National Council elections in 1945, the KPÖ won only 5.4% of the votes, securing four seats in parliament. Despite this, they were offered a ministerial position, and communist Karl Altmann became the Minister for Energy. However, with the onset of the Cold War and ongoing disagreements over the Marshall Plan, Altmann resigned in 1947, and the KPÖ became an opposition party.

The KPÖ's close association with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries during the Cold War marginalised the party. They were perceived as uncritical of injustices and crimes committed by these regimes, which created a political burden for Communist activists. The negative consequences of these ties became evident in 1956 and after 1968 during the Hungarian uprising and the suppression of the Prague Spring.

In recent years, the KPÖ has made a political comeback, with Communist Elke Kahr becoming mayor of Graz, Austria's second-biggest city, in 2021. The party has also gained traction in other cities, such as Salzburg and Innsbruck. The KPÖ's success has sparked discussions about its historical legacy, with some media outlets criticising its admiration for "dictatorships" and its policies. However, others argue that the party is unfairly presented in a negative light and is accused of bearing responsibility for the entire communist movement.

The Green Party

In 2017, the Green Party suffered internal struggles, losing its Youth wing, and they failed to surpass the 4% threshold in the national elections, resulting in the loss of all their seats in the National Council. However, they made a strong comeback in the September 2019 snap elections, winning 13.9% of the vote and 25 seats. This positioned them as a potential coalition partner for the People's Party, which had won the most votes and seats. The Green Party then formed a coalition with the ÖVP, led by Sebastian Kurz, with a focus on decarbonising the economy and addressing "political Islam". As part of this coalition, the Greens accepted some right-wing policies, such as stricter controls on migration and lower income taxes, which contradicted their values of pro-minority and pro-immigration stances.

While the Green Party in Austria has gained support due to its focus on environmental issues and has implemented policies to address climate change, it has also faced criticism for its moderation and willingness to compromise with right-wing parties. Some argue that their policies are constrained within the limits of a market-based capitalist system, and they have supported anti-immigrant and pro-austerity measures in various countries. Despite having some socialist-aligned policies, such as increased government spending on public services and the promotion of renewable energy, the Green Party lacks an explicitly socialist ideological anchor, and their compromises with right-wing parties have led to criticism that they are not a true alternative to pro-market policies.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ)

The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) was founded in 1956 as a successor to the Federation of Independents (VdU), a party representing pan-Germanists and national liberals opposed to socialism and Catholic clericalism. The VdU was founded by two liberal Salzburg journalists who wanted to distance themselves from mainstream socialist and Catholic ideologies and feared that hostility towards Nazis following World War II could stimulate a revival of Nazism. The FPÖ has been described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. The party's politics have fluctuated over the years, veering from extreme-right to center and back again, before settling on a far-right, anti-elite, and populist platform from 1986 onwards.

The FPÖ's history is marked by controversy, with its early leaders having close associations with the Nazis. Its first two chairmen, Anton Reinthaller and Friedrich Peter, were former SS officers. In the 2000s, under the leadership of Heinz-Christian Strache, the party adopted an anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner stance, and Strache himself was known for using anti-Semitic and racist slurs. The party has also been accused of xenophobia and has faced allegations of corruption.

Despite the controversies, the FPÖ has had some significant electoral successes. In 1999, the party won 26.9% of the vote in nationwide legislative elections. In 2000, the FPÖ formed a coalition government with the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). In the 2013 legislative election, the FPÖ obtained 20.51% of the votes. In the 2016 Austrian presidential election, the FPÖ candidate Norbert Hofer won the first round with 35.1% of the vote, marking the party's best-ever election result. However, Hofer narrowly lost the second round to Alexander Van der Bellen. In the 2017 election, the party peaked at 26.0% of the vote.

In recent years, the FPÖ has faced some setbacks. In 2019, the "Ibiza affair" led to the collapse of the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition government and the resignation of Strache as vice chancellor and party leader. In the subsequent snap election, the FPÖ's support dropped to 16.2%. In the 2024 election, the party won 28.85% of the votes and currently holds 57 of the 183 seats in the National Council, making it the largest of the five parties. While the FPÖ has faced internal tensions and shifts in popularity over the years, it remains a significant force in Austrian politics.

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