The politics of Austria take place in the framework of the federal parliamentary republic of Austria, with a President as head of state, and a Chancellor as the head of government. Governments, both local and federal, exercise executive power. Federal legislative power is vested both in the Federal Government and in the two chambers of Parliament; the National Council and the Federal Council. The Judiciary of Austria is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Wolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in contemporary Austrian politics, his governments were also highly controversial from the beginning, starting with the fact that he formed a coalition government with Jörg Haider's Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) on both occasions. In 2011, he retired from being an active member of parliament due to a multitude of charges of corruption against members of his governments.
Viktor Klima is an Austrian Social Democrat politician and businessman. He was chancellor of Austria from 1997 to 2000.
Franz Vranitzky is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002, after internal divisions in the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) culminating in the Knittelfeld Putsch led to the resignation of several leading FPÖ members. The result was a victory for the ÖVP, which won 79 of the 183 seats, the first time it had been the largest party in the National Council since 1966. It continued its coalition government with the FPÖ, which had lost almost two-thirds of its seats. Voter turnout was 84.3%.
The Alliance for the Future of Austria is a right-wing populist and national conservative political party in Austria.
The Federation of Independents was a German nationalist and national-liberal political party in Austria active from 1949 to 1955. It was the predecessor of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).
Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 23 November 1986. They were called by Chancellor Franz Vranitzky of the Socialist Party (SPÖ), as he was not prepared to continue the coalition government with new Freedom Party leader Jörg Haider, who had ousted Norbert Steger at the party convention.
Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 6 March 1966. The result was a victory for the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which won 85 of the 165 seats. Voter turnout was 93.8%. With an outright majority of three seats, the ÖVP could govern alone. Nonetheless, ÖVP leader and Chancellor Josef Klaus initially sought to continue the grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) that had governed since 1945. When talks for a renewed coalition failed, Klaus formed an exclusively ÖVP cabinet, the first one-party government of the Second Republic. It was also the first purely centre-right government in Austria since before World War II.
Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 13 May 1956. The result was a victory for the Austrian People's Party, which won 82 of the 165 seats in the National Council. Voter turnout was 96.0%. Although the ÖVP had come up one seat short of an absolute majority, ÖVP leader and Chancellor Julius Raab retained the grand coalition with the Socialists, with the SPÖ leader Adolf Schärf as Vice-Chancellor.
Susanne Riess is a former Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).
Knittelfeld Putsch refers to a conference of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) which took place on 7 September 2002 in the small Austrian town of Knittelfeld, Styria, called due to political differences within the party leadership. The events resulted in early federal elections in the same year.
Snap legislative elections were held in Austria on 28 September 2008 to elect the 183 members of the National Council. The elections were caused by the withdrawal of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) from the governing grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party on 7 July 2008. Due to dissatisfaction with the grand coalition and the two main parties, it was widely expected to be a realigning election, with gains for the opposition and up to seven parties were expected to win seats.
The Carinthian state and municipal elections of 2009 were held in the Austrian state of Carinthia on 1 March 2009. Carinthia is the stronghold of the national conservative Alliance for the Future of Austria, whose founder Jörg Haider died in a car accident on 11 October 2008. He was also the incumbent governor; after his death, he was replaced by Gerhard Dörfler as governor, by Uwe Scheuch as Carinthian BZÖ leader and by his close personal friend Stefan Petzner as national BZÖ leader. The election is likely to see a strong contest between the SPÖ and the BZÖ over the post of governor, while the other Austrian parties play only a minor role in Carinthian politics.
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria, a breakaway party from the FPÖ.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 29 September 2013.
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008. Due to dissatisfaction with the grand coalition and the two main parties, it was widely expected to be a realigning election, with gains for the opposition and up to seven parties expected to be in the National Council after the election. The losses for the government parties resulted in strong gains for the far right, while neither the Liberal Forum nor the Citizens' Forum Austria gained as much as 2% of the vote, defying earlier expectations. The result of the election was seen as strong for the far-right and in support of Eurosceptics.
