Austria's Political System: Socialist Or Democratic?

Austria is a democratic federal republic. Its politics reflect the dynamics of competition among multiple political parties. The country's two traditional major parties are the centre-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). The SPÖ is a social democratic political party founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. It is the oldest extant political party in Austria and is currently the second-largest of five parties in the National Council. The country's government structure resembles that of larger federal republics such as Germany.

Austria's political system

Austria is a parliamentary democracy and a federal semi-presidential republic. Its political system reflects the dynamics of competition among multiple political parties. The country's laws are derived from the people, as outlined in Article 1 of the Federal Constitutional Act.

Austria's head of state is the Federal President, who is elected by popular vote for a term of six years and is limited to two consecutive terms. The Federal Chancellor, who is the head of government, is appointed by the Federal President. The Federal Chancellor has no power to direct other members of the government. The federal cabinet, which includes the Federal Chancellor and a number of ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor, answers to the National Council and can be forced to resign through a motion of no confidence.

The Parliament of Austria consists of two chambers: the National Council and the Federal Council. The National Council is the predominant chamber, with 183 members elected for a five-year term by proportional representation. To be represented in the National Council, a party must either win at least four percent of the votes across the nation or win a seat in one of the 43 regional constituencies. The Federal Council has 62 members selected by the state legislatures, with its power being rather limited.

In addition to the two major parties, there are several smaller parties in Austria's political system. The populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), sometimes referred to as the Liberal Party, was founded in 1955 and has attracted votes from young people and workers. The environmentalist parties, known collectively as the Greens, include the Green Alternative (GA) and the United Greens of Austria (VGÖ). The Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) is of marginal strength and has not been represented in the national parliament since 1959.

The Social Democratic Party of Austria

At the beginning of World War I, the SDAPÖ was the strongest party in parliament. After the war, its leader, Karl Renner, became Chancellor of the First Austrian Republic. The party was banned in 1934 following the Austrian Civil War and was suppressed during the Nazi period. In 1945, the party was refounded as the Socialist Party of Austria and governed as a junior partner of the ÖVP until 1966.

In 1970, the SPÖ became the largest party in post-war Austria, and Bruno Kreisky became Chancellor, winning three consecutive majorities. From 1987 to 2000, the SPÖ led a grand coalition with the ÖVP before returning to opposition. The party governed again from 2007 to 2017 and has been the primary opposition to the ÖVP governments since 2017.

The SPÖ is supportive of Austria's membership in the European Union and is a member of the Progressive Alliance and Party of European Socialists. It holds seats in the legislatures of all nine states and is currently the second-largest party in the National Council, with 40 out of 183 seats. The party has close ties to the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK).

In recent years, the SPÖ has struggled to adapt to the changing political landscape and suffered heavy losses in the 2019 National Council elections. However, in January 2020, the party received almost 50% of the votes in regional elections in the State of Burgenland, giving it an absolute majority of seats in the Landtag. This success raised the possibility of a comeback for the SPÖ at the national level.

The Austrian People's Party

The ÖVP is described as a catch-all party of the centre-right and has explicitly defined itself as Catholic and anti-socialist. It has traditionally garnered support from farmers, large and small business owners, and lay Catholic groups, as well as voters without party affiliation, particularly in rural regions of Austria. The party has seats in all nine state legislatures and is part of the government in seven of those states, leading six of the coalitions.

In the 2024 legislative election, the ÖVP won 26.3% of the votes cast, making it the second-largest party in the National Council, with 51 out of 183 seats. The party has consistently held power, either alone or in coalition with the SPÖ, since its founding. The ÖVP was the most popular party until 1970 and has been in government continuously since 1987.

In recent years, the party has undergone a change in image under the leadership of Sebastian Kurz, adopting the colour turquoise and the alternate name, The New People's Party. In the 2017 legislative election, the party's campaign shifted rightward, promising a crackdown on illegal immigration and a fight against political Islam. The ÖVP formed a coalition government with the FPÖ, which collapsed after eighteen months, leading to the 2019 election. Following this election, the ÖVP formed a new coalition with The Greens.

In December 2021, Karl Nehammer became the leader of the ÖVP. However, he resigned in early 2025 after coalition talks with the Social Democrats collapsed. The ÖVP then signalled it might be open to working under Herbert Kickl, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).

The Freedom Party of Austria

The FPO's ideology has shifted over time. Initially, the party was led by Anton Reinthaller, a former Nazi functionary and SS officer, and was seen as a right-wing extremist party. However, under the leadership of Norbert Steger in the early 1980s, it sought to style itself as a moderate centrist liberal party. In the 1980s, Austrian politics began to shift to the right, and this was reflected in the FPO's leadership change to Jörg Haider in 1986, which resulted in a strong surge in electoral support. The FPO's platform became increasingly focused on issues such as immigration and criticism of the political establishment and the EU.

In the 1999 general election, the FPO won 27% of the votes, beating the Austrian People's Party (OVP) for the first time. The FPO formed a coalition government with the OVP, but this led to intense international criticism due to the FPO's far-right-wing tendencies. The FPO struggled with its shift from an anti-establishment party to being part of the government, and internal tensions led Haider and much of the party leadership to leave in 2005, forming the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ).

In recent years, the FPO has continued to promote anti-immigration, anti-Islam, and eurosceptic policies. In the 2024 Austrian legislative election, the FPO's support increased to 29.2% of the vote, placing first and achieving its best result in the party's history. The party's election program, titled "Fortress Austria," calls for the "remigration of uninvited foreigners" and a more homogeneous" nation through tight border control and suspension of the right to asylum. The FPO also advocates for an end to sanctions against Russia and is highly critical of Western military aid to Ukraine.

The FPO's shift towards the far-right has caused concern among some Austrians and criticism from opposition parties, particularly regarding its anti-immigration and anti-Islam stance. The party has been described as ethnonationalist and Islamophobic, and its historic ties to Nazism have been a source of alarm for Jewish and Muslim groups in Austria.

The Greens

The Austrian Green movement began in 1978 with a successful campaign to prevent the opening of a nuclear power plant in Zwentendorf. The Green Party was then born in 1984 during sit-in protests which prevented the construction of a Danube power plant at Hainburg. In the 1986 parliamentary elections, the Green Party entered parliament with 4.82% of the vote and eight National Council mandates.

In the 2002 National Council elections, the Green Party received 9.47% of the vote and won 17 mandates, the highest number of votes garnered by any European Green party at the time. When the Greens took their seats in parliament for the first time, they chose to appear unconventional, refusing to elect a chairperson and instead designating a straw puppet. Delegates wore casual clothing such as jeans and trainers, and Green delegate Andreas Wabl hoisted a swastika flag on the speaker's podium in the Austrian parliament, protesting against then Federal President Kurt Waldheim.

After the 2006 elections, the Greens gained four seats and became the third-largest party in Parliament with 21 seats. However, they did not have enough mandates to form a coalition government and became the largest opposition party. The party suffered internal struggles in 2017, losing its Youth wing and later experiencing a split in Peter Pilz's faction. In the 2017 legislative election, the Greens scored only 3.8% and lost their representation in the Nationalrat for the first time since 1986.

However, the party experienced a revival in the 2019 European election, scoring 14.1% and electing 2 MEPs. In the 2019 snap legislative election, the Greens returned to the National Council with their best-ever result, scoring 13.9% and electing 26 MPs. The Greens then formed a coalition government with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) in January 2020, marking the first time the Greens gained power in Austria.

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