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 Politics of 

The Republic of Austria (German Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.

Form of government

Austria has been a federal, parliamentary democracy republic since 1920.
The state is a representative democracy.

President

The head of state is the Federal President, who is directly elected.
 For a portrait of the current: Heinz Fischer

Chancellor and
government

The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president and voted into office by the majority of the Nationalrat, the National Council of Austria.

 Curriculum vitae of the Federal Chancellor: Wolfgang Schüssel  

The current Austrian government (Feb. 2005): government

Parliament

The Austrian parliament consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat is determined every four years by a free general election in which every citizen is allowed to vote to fill its 183 seats. The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat has the right of veto.

National anthem

Land der Berge, Land am Strome
Flag Description and history of the flag
Independence 27 July 1955

National holiday

26 October

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Austria's largest Political parties and their leaders

Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPÖ, chairman Alfred Gusenbauer

Austrian People's Party or ÖVP, chairman Wolfgang Schüssel

Freedom Party of Austria or FPÖ, chairwoman Ursula Haubner

The Greens or GA, party spokesman Alexander van der Bellen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) is traditionally elected by blue- and white-collar workers. Accordingly, much of its strength lies in urban and industrialized areas. In the 2002 national elections, it gained 36.5% of the vote.

 The People's Party (ÖVP) advocates conservative financial policies and privatization of much of Austria's nationalized industry and finds support from farmers, large and small business owners, and lay Catholic groups, but also from voters in the rural regions of Austria. In 2002, it received 42.3% of the vote.

 The rightist Freedom Party (FPÖ) attracts protest votes and those who desire no association with the other major parties. The party's mixture of populism and anti-establishment themes propagated by its aggressive leader Jörg Haider steadily gained support from the beginning of Jörg Haider's leadership in 1986 until it attracted about 27% of the vote in the 1999 elections. However, their voters were soon disillusioned by the party's style of government, and in the 2002 elections they were reduced to just 10%. Recent regional and communal elections led to further losses.

 The Greens (GRÜNE), a center party focusing on social and environmental issues, received 9.4% of the vote in 2002. They are particularly strong in the city areas, where they attract the votes of right-wing liberals who find the ÖVP too conservative and left-wing intellectuals alike.