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$Unique_ID{COW00237}
$Pretitle{376}
$Title{Austria
Government and Politics}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Federal Press Service}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Austria, Washington DC}
$Subject{government
federal
austria
austrian
nationalrat
parliament
party
republic
chancellor
elected}
$Date{1988}
$Log{Table 1.*0023701.tab
}
Country: Austria
Book: Austria Facts and Figures
Author: Federal Press Service
Affiliation: Embassy of Austria, Washington DC
Date: 1988
Government and Politics
Parliamentary Democracy
"Austria is a democratic republic. Legislative power is in the hands of
the people."
Thus Article I of the Federal Constitution, which together with the State
Treaty of Vienna and the Law on Permanent Neutrality forms the constitutional
basis of the Second Republic.
The system of parliamentary democracy in Austria had been annulled on
March 4 1933. From March 13 1938 onwards Austria was occupied by Germany and
thus prevented from existing as a sovereign nation. Up to April 1945 it was
part of the "Third Reich".
In much the same way as had happened with the First Republic, it was the
political parties which founded the Second Republic after the liberation of
Austria in April 1945. The three anti-fascist parties agreed on the formation
of a provisional government headed by Karl Renner which proclaimed Austria's
independence. This declaration of independence was issued on April 27 1945 and
bears the signatures of Karl Renner and Adolf Scharf for the Social
Democrats, Leopold Kunschak for the party executive committee of the Christian
Socialists (now known as the Austrian People's Party) and Johann Koplenig for
the Communist Party of Austria.
The declaration of independence contains the following two clauses:
"Article I: The Democratic Republic of Austria is restored and is to be
re-established in the spirit of the Constitution of 1920.
Article 2: The annexation imposed upon the people of Austria in 1938 is
declared null and void.". The federal constitution of 1920 is to a great
extent the work of Hans Kelsen, the expert on political and international law
who defined democracy as the closest possible approximation to the idea of
freedom in the framework of social realities. Austria's constitution is guided
by the rule of law and based on the republican, democratic and federal
principles as well as on the strict division of legislative and executive
powers and of jurisdiction and administration. The constitutional guarantee of
basic rights in Austria looks back on a tradition more than a century old, and
the constitution is supplemented by the terms of the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The Federal President
The head of the Austrian state is the federal president. On June 8th 1986
former Austrian Foreign Minister and United Nations Secretary General Kurt
Waldheim was elected President of Austria. His candidacy had been backed by
the Austrian People's Party (OVP).
Kurt Waldheim was born in St. Andra-Wordern in Lower Austria on
December 21st 1918. Having gained a doctorate of law he entered the Austrian
diplomatic corps after the end of the second world war. Between 1968 and 1970
he served on the Cabinet as Foreign Minister. In December 1971 Waldheim was
elected Secretary General of the United Nations, and five years later he was
unanimously re-elected for a second term of office.
The following men have been elected Presidents of the Second Republic:
Karl Renner (1945-1950), Theodor Korner (1951-1957), Adolf Scharf
(1957-1965), Franz Jonas (1965-1974), Rudolf Kirchschlager (1974-1986).
Karl Renner was elected unanimously in 1945 by the two houses of
parliament, the Nationalrat and the Bundesrat, but since 1951 the head of
state has been elected directly by the people. Voting in the presidential
election is compulsory in those provinces which have enacted legislation to
this effect.
The head of state holds office for six years. Re-election for the term of
office immediately following is admissible once only.
Candidates for the presidency are in fact nominated by the political
parties, but the presidents who have held office during the Second Republic
have always taken full account of the nonparty character of their position and
sought to act strictly in the interests of the country as a whole.
The federal president represents the republic internationally; he
convokes and prorogues parliament and, subject to certain conditions, he can
dissolve the Nationalrat, although not more than once for the same reason. He
appoints the federal chancellor, usually the leader of the strongest party,
and, at the latter's suggestion, the members of the government. No one can
become a member of the government unless he has the approval of the president.
Among the presidential duties are the signing of treaties, the swearing
in of provincial governors and the verification of laws passed by parliament.
The head of state is also commander-in-chief of the Austrian armed forces.
In the event of any violation of the constitution, the president is held
legally responsible and he may be deposed by referendum, if parliament so
demands, before his term of office expires.
Parliament
The Nationalrat and the Bundesrat, the two houses of the Austrian
parliament, are the country's main legislative bodies and therefore the
central element of the government system.
The Nationalrat approves federal legislation and also any newly formed
government. A vote of no confidence on the part of the Nationalrat can mean
the dismissal of the government or of individual members of the cabinet.
Along with the nine provinces' individual parliaments and governments,
the Bundesrat, in which representation is by province, reflects the federal
element of the Austrian system of government. Virtually every draft law
approved by the lower house must also be presented to the upper house. The
Bundesrat can object to such draft legislation, but if the Nationalrat once
again carries its original resolution, this is then authenticated and passed.
The Nationalrat is elected for a four year term by proportional
representation on a basis of equal, direct, secret and personal suffrage for
anyone who is aged nineteen or over on the day of the election. Candidates are
eligible for election if they are aged twenty-one or over. The Nationalrat
comprises 183 delegates.
The delegates of the Bundesrat are sent by the parliaments of the
individual provinces. The Bundesrat currently comprises 63 members. The number
of delegates sent by each province depends on the relative size of its
population.
Together, the Nationalrat and the Bundesrat form what is known as the
federal assembly and one of their most important tasks is to accept the oath
sworn by the president when he assumes office. Any Austrian entitled to vote
has the right to institute legislative proceedings by starting a referendum.
Any total revision of the constitution must be submitted to a referendum by
the entire nation.
The Federal Government
The federal government is headed by the chancellor, who, along with the
vice-chancellor and the cabinet ministers, conducts any government affairs
which are not the responsibility of the president. If necessary, ministers may
be aided by state secretaries. When the Austrian Republic was re-established
in 1945, the provisional government formed by Chancellor Karl Renner was made
up of approximately equal numbers of representatives from the Sozialistische
Partei Osterreichs (SPO - Social Democrats), the Osterreichische
Volkspartei (OVP - Christian Democrats) and the Kommunistische Partei
Osterreichs (KPO - Communists). After the first elections to the
Nationalrat, in November 1945, in which the communists won only four out of a
total of 165 seats, there was, until 1947, one communist minister in addition
to the cabinet members representing the two major parti