Austria flag Austria: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Austria

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (since 26 January 2017)
Chancellor: Alexander SCHALLENBERG (since 10 January 2025) serving as interim Chancellor
Next Election Dates
Presidential: April 2028
National Council: 2029
Current Political Context
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 29 September 2024 to elect the 28th National Council. The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) emerged as the leading party, securing 28.8% of the vote and achieving its best-ever result. This marked the first instance since World War II that a far-right party won the most seats in a legislative election in Austria and happened after FPÖ obtained 25.4% of the votes in the European Parliament election held in June, winning its first ever nationwide polls. The ruling Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) lost 20 seats, while its coalition partner, the Greens, saw a loss of 10 seats. The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) garnered 21.1%, its worst result both in percentage and in seat position (3rd), although it gained one seat compared to the previous election. NEOS saw a modest improvement from 2019, increasing from 15 to 18 seats. No other party surpassed the 4% threshold to secure any seats.
Alexander Schallenberg was appointed caretaker chancellor on January 10th 2025, succeeding outgoing Karl Nehammer, who resigned after the first post-election coalition talks collapsed. Austria's conservative ÖVP-led government is due to remain in power as a caretaker administration until a new coalition is formed.
In terms of foreign policy, Austria has maintained a neutral stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The FPÖ has expressed opposition to EU sanctions against Russia and has called for an end to the European Sky Shield Initiative, a joint missile defence project.
Main Political Parties
Austria has a multi-party system. The main parties represented in the parliament include:

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

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 60 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

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
17/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

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

 

Return to top

Any Comment About This Content? Report It to Us.

 

© eexpand, All Rights Reserved.
Latest Update: February 2025