The Austrian Parliament: Parties And Politics

The Austrian Parliament is a bicameral federal legislature, consisting of two chambers: the National Council and the Federal Council. The National Council is the main legislative body and is composed of 183 members elected through proportional representation in a general election. The Federal Council, on the other hand, is elected indirectly through the provincial assemblies of the nine states of the Federal Republic. While there are over 1,100 registered political parties in Austria, only a few are widely known, and five parties are currently represented in the National Council: the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), the Greens, and NEOS.

Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)

The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. It is currently the second-largest party in the National Council, with 51 out of 183 seats, and won 26.3% of the votes in the 2024 legislative election. The ÖVP holds seats in all nine state legislatures and is part of the government in seven, leading in six. The ÖVP is a member of the International Democracy Union and the European People's Party, sitting with the EPP group in the European Parliament.

The ÖVP was founded in 1945, immediately following the re-establishment of the Republic of Austria, and has been one of the two traditional major parties in the country since then. It was the most popular party until 1970 and has traditionally governed in a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). The ÖVP was the senior partner in grand coalitions from 1945 to 1966 and the junior partner from 1986 to 2000 and 2007 to 2017. The party also briefly governed alone from 1966 to 1970.

The ÖVP is the unofficial successor to the Christian Social Party, a conservative movement founded in 1893 by Karl Lueger, the mayor of Vienna. The Christian Social Party was a staunchly right-wing populist party, and most of its members during its founding belonged to the former Fatherland Front, led by chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. While Dollfuss is sometimes honoured by ÖVP members for resisting Adolf Hitler, his regime was authoritarian and has been dubbed Austrofascism.

In its modern form, the ÖVP was established after Austria regained its independence in 1945, and it has been represented in the Federal Assembly ever since. The party has consistently been the strongest or second-strongest party in terms of Federal Assembly seats, leading or partnering in most Austrian federal cabinets.

In the 1945 Austrian legislative election, the ÖVP won a landslide victory, securing almost half the popular vote and an absolute majority in the legislature. However, memories of hyper-partisanship during the First Republic led the ÖVP to maintain a grand coalition with the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) and the SPÖ.

The ÖVP has described itself as a "progressive centre party," and it is a member of the European Union of Christian Democrats. The party has traditionally been explicitly Catholic and anti-socialist, with ideals of subsidiarity as defined by the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno and decentralisation.

In recent years, the ÖVP has shifted further to the right, adopting a hard line on immigration and a fight against political Islam. This shift brought it closer in line with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), with whom they formed a coalition government in 2019. However, this collapsed after 18 months due to the Ibiza affair, leading to the 2019 election.

The ÖVP has undergone changes in its image, including a colour change from the traditional black to turquoise, and the adoption of the alternate name, The New People's Party (German: Die neue Volkspartei).

Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ)

The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) is a centre-left political party and the oldest extant political party in Austria. It was founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAPÖ) and later became known as the Socialist Party of Austria. The party is one of the country's two traditional major parties, along with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).

The SPÖ has a rich history in Austrian politics, dating back to the establishment of the First Austrian Republic after World War I. The party was banned in 1934 following the Austrian Civil War and suppressed during the Nazi period. It was refounded in 1945 and has played a significant role in Austrian politics since then. The SPÖ has governed Austria multiple times, both as a junior partner in coalitions and as the largest party. In recent years, the party has been in opposition to the ÖVP governments.

The SPÖ has close ties to labour organisations and trade unions, and its policies reflect a commitment to social democracy and the representation of workers' interests. The party holds seats in the legislatures of all nine Austrian states and is currently the second-largest party in the National Council, with 40 out of 183 seats. The SPÖ won 21.1% of the votes in the 2024 Austrian legislative election, marking its lowest result in the National Council to date.

The party has gone through periods of internal power struggles and has seen shifts in its support base. Despite this, the SPÖ remains a significant force in Austrian politics, with a strong presence in the National Council and state legislatures. The party's current leader, Andreas Babler, was elected in June 2023.

Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ)

The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, which has been described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It is currently led by Herbert Kickl, who was elected in 2021. The party is the largest of five parties in the National Council, with 57 out of 183 seats, and won 28.85% of the votes in the 2024 election. The party is represented in all nine state legislatures.

The FPÖ was founded in 1956 as the successor to the Federation of Independents (VdU), representing pan-Germanists and national liberals who were opposed to socialism and Catholic clericalism. The party's first leader, Anton Reinthaller, was a former Nazi functionary and SS officer. Despite this, the FPÖ did not advocate far-right policies and presented itself as a centrist party. The party served as a coalition partner with both the SPÖ and ÖVP in regional and local politics, although it was excluded at the national level.

Under the leadership of Norbert Steger in the early 1980s, the FPÖ sought to style itself as a moderate centrist liberal party, modelled after Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP). However, in 1986, Jörg Haider became the leader of the party, and it began an ideological turn towards right-wing populism. This shift resulted in a surge of electoral support but also led to the SPÖ breaking ties and the formation of the Liberal Forum in 1993.

In the 1999 election, the FPÖ won 26.9% of the vote, becoming the second-most popular party. They formed a coalition government with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), with the ÖVP retaining the office of chancellor. However, the FPÖ soon lost popularity, falling to 10% in the 2002 election. Internal tensions led to Haider and much of the party leadership leaving in 2005 to form the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ).

The FPÖ gradually regained its popularity under the leadership of Heinz-Christian Strache, who became leader in 2005. The party returned to its focus on anti-immigration and anti-Islam rhetoric, and in the 2017 election, they won 26% of the vote. The FPÖ once again formed a coalition government with the ÖVP, but this collapsed in 2019 following the Ibiza affair, which led to the resignation of Strache.

Historically, the FPÖ has been associated with national liberalism, pan-Germanism, and anti-clericalism, with a significant classical-liberal minority faction. Since Haider's leadership in 1986, the party has been described as national-conservative and right-wing populist, and it has left the Liberal International. The FPÖ has been accused of being involved in right-wing extremism and possessing a neo-Nazi ideology.

The Greens

The basic values of the party, according to their charter in 2001, are "direct democracy, nonviolence, ecology, solidarity, feminism, and self-determination". The party campaigns for ecological issues such as environmental protection, is Pro-European, and advocates for the rights of minorities and a socio-ecological tax reform. The Greens are a member of the European Green Party and Global Greens.

In 2003, three Green federal counsellors formed their own club in the Upper House Federal Council (Bundesrat) of Parliament. After the 2006 elections, the Greens gained four seats and became the third-largest party in Parliament, but they did not have enough mandates to form a coalition government.

The party suffered internal struggles in 2017, losing its Youth wing and later experiencing a split of 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, they experienced a revival in the 2019 European election, scoring 14.1% and electing 2 MEPs.

In the 2024 Austrian legislative election, the Greens won 8.2% of the votes cast, a decrease from their previous best result in the 2019 snap legislative election, where they scored 13.9% and elected 26 MPs.

NEOS

In Austria's election system of proportional representation, NEOS's entry into parliament meant an increase in the number of parties in the national parliament, allowing smaller parties to have a say in shaping the political agenda and forming coalitions. Moreover, entering parliament provided NEOS with state funding, staffers, and office space, which are vital for the development of a political party.

In terms of ideology, NEOS has been described as a classic party of the centre. Its policies and electorate fall between those of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Green Party. NEOS's policies include lowering taxes, reducing red tape for businesses, improving childcare, promoting pro-Europeanism, and fostering entrepreneurship and democratic participation.

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