Politics in Austria reflects the dynamics of competition among multiple political parties, which led to the formation of a Conservative-Green coalition government for the first time in January 2020, following the snap elections of 29 September 2019, and the election of a former Green Party leader to the presidency in 2016.
The Federal Council is the upper house of the Austrian Parliament, representing the nine States of Austria at the federal level. As part of a bicameral legislature alongside the National Council, it can be compared with an upper house or a senate. In fact, however, it is far less powerful than the National Council: although it has to approve every new law decided for by this lower chamber, the latter can – in most cases – overrule the Federal Council's refusal to approve.
The Greens – The Green Alternative is a green political party in Austria. The Greens are in a coalition with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) in the Nehammer government. Before they were part of the Schallenberg government and the Second Kurz government. The current President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, is from the Green Party.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Austria since 1 January 2019. On 4 December 2017, the Constitutional Court ruled that the non-discrimination and equality provisions of the Constitution of Austria guarantee same-sex couples the right to marry. The decision took effect on 1 January 2019, making Austria the 24th country in the world and the fifteenth in Europe to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide. Polling indicates that a majority of Austrians support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
The Socialist Youth Austria is the largest socialist youth organisation in Austria. Founded in 1894 as a club for apprentice protection, it was initially called Association of Young Workers. Although not part of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), there is a close relationship between the two organisations. The SJÖ is actively integrated within the committees of the SPÖ.
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five parties in the National Council, with 58 of the 183 seats, and won 29.21% of votes cast in the 2024 election and it is represented in all nine state legislatures. On a European level, the FPÖ is a founding member of the Patriots.eu and its six MEPs sit with the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group following the dissolution of its predecessor, Identity and Democracy (ID).
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria from 1945 until 1991, the party is the oldest extant political party in Austria. Along with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), it is one of the country's two traditional major parties. It is positioned on the centre-left on the political spectrum.
Hans Peter Doskozil is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) who is serving as the governor of Burgenland since February 2019. He previously served as minister of defence from 2016–2017. In the 2020 Burgenland state election, he led his party to win a majority of the seats in Burgenland's parliament. Due to an error in the count of his party’s national congress in June 2023, he was assumed to be the SPÖ's party leader from 3 to 5 June 2023, when the error was discovered and his opponent Andreas Babler was declared party leader.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 29 September 2019 to elect the 27th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The snap election was called in the wake of the Ibiza affair in May, which caused the resignation of Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache and the collapse of the governing coalition of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). The government subsequently lost a motion of no confidence in parliament, before ÖVP Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was replaced by non-partisan Brigitte Bierlein on an interim basis.
Peter Kaiser is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party. Since March 2013 he is governor of Carinthia and since March 2010 also chairman of the SPÖ Carinthia.
Pamela Rendi-Wagner is an Austrian physician and politician who is the current director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and who previously served as chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to lead the SPÖ.
In the run-up to the 2024 Austrian legislative election, various organisations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intentions in Austria. Results of such polls are displayed in this list; the date range for these opinion polls are from the 2019 Austrian legislative election, held on 29 September, to the present day. The next election will be held on 29 September 2024.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 29 September 2024 to elect the 28th National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament.
Presidential elections were held in Austria on 9 October 2022. Incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen from the Greens was eligible for one more term and ran for re-election. About 6.36 million voting-age citizens were eligible to vote.
Events in the year 2023 in Austria.
The 2023 Lower Austrian state election was held on 29 January 2023 to elect the members of the Landtag of Lower Austria.
The 2023 Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) leadership election was initially held between 24 April and 10 May 2023 among party members as an advisory survey to elect a new chairperson. The non-binding vote was conducted by mail and online. Results were released on 22 May 2023 with Hans Peter Doskozil winning narrowly, Andreas Babler coming in second, and Pamela Rendi-Wagner in third place.
Andreas "Andi" Babler is an Austrian politician serving as Chair of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), and mayor of the city and municipality of Traiskirchen. He is also a member of the Federal Council of Austria, and has been appointed as chairperson of the reform commission of the Social Democratic Party of Lower Austria. He has been described as being a left-wing populist.
Paul Stich is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), and since 22 February 2020, he has been the chairman of the Socialist Youth Austria (SJÖ).
Philip Kucher is an Austrian politician from the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). Kucher has been a member of the Austrian National Council since October 2013.
