El marc polític d'Àustria

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders

President: Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (since 26 January 2017)
Chancellor: Karl NEHAMMER (since 6 December 2021)

Next Election Dates

National Council: 2024
Presidential: April 2028

Current Political Context

The Austrian political landscape has been characterized by increasing polarization in the past few years. After being appointed as leader of the ÖVP by the federal party committee, Karl Nehammer was nominated as chancellor, leading a coalition government formed by the Austrian People's Party and the "Die Grünen" (The Greens). During 2022 the government has been active in diversifying its energy sources, bringing the share of gas imported from Russia to 50% following the Ukraine conflict and the EU sanctions that followed, down from 80% at the beginning of the year. Towards the end of 2022, Chancellor Nehammer affirmed his commitment to keeping both Romania and Bulgaria out of the Schengen area, noting that lifting the veto would only be possible once border protection in these two countries had been improved.

Main Political Parties

Austria has a multi-party system. The main parties include:

- Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP): centre-right, Christian democratic and conservative
- Social Democratic Party (SPÖ): centre-left,
- Freedom Party (FPÖ): right-wing, nationalist and anti-immigration
- The Greens (GRÜNE): centre-left
- The New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS): centre, liberal

Executive Power

The President is the Chief of State, while the Federal Chancellor is the Head of Government. The Federal Chancellor enjoys executive powers. The President is elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term and the Chancellor is traditionally chosen by the President from the majority party in the National Council. The Council of Ministers is chosen by the President on the advice of the Chancellor.

Legislative Power

The legislature in Austria is bicameral. The parliament consists of two chambers: The National Council (the lower house) whose 183 members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms, and the Federal Council (the upper house) whose 61 members are elected by provincial parliaments to serve five- or six-year terms. The President can dissolve the National Council on the recommendation of the Chancellor. The Federal Council only reviews legislation passed by the National Council and can delay but not veto its enactment. Most authority, including that of the police, rests with the federal Government but the states have considerable responsibility for welfare matters and local administration.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:

17/180

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:

Free

Political Freedom:

1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House