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.
Heinz-Christian Strache is an Austrian politician and dental technician who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 2017 to 2019 before resigning owing to his involvement in the Ibiza affair. He was also Minister of Civil Service and Sports from January 2018 to May 2019 and chairman of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) from April 2005 to May 2019. He previously served as a member of the National Council from October 2006 until December 2017 and as a member of the municipal council and state legislature of Vienna (2001–2006).
Sebastian Kurz is an Austrian former politician who served twice as the 26th chancellor of Austria,initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021. On 23 February 2024,Kurz received an eight-month suspended sentence after being convicted of perjury by a court in Vienna over his involvement in a parliamentary inquiry.
Legislative elections were held in Austria on 15 October 2017 to elect the 26th National Council,the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The snap election was called when the coalition government between the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) was dissolved in May by the latter party's new leader Sebastian Kurz.
Presidential elections were held in Austria on 24 April 2016,with a second round run-off on 22 May 2016. However,the results of the second round were annulled and a re-vote took place on 4 December 2016.
Herbert Kickl is an Austrian politician who has been leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) since June 2021. He previously served as minister of the interior from 2017 to 2019 and general-secretary of the FPÖfrom 2005 to 2018. He has been described as a far-right politician. Kickl calls himself Volkskanzler and advocates a Fortress Austria and Remigration.
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.
Karin Kneissl is an Austrian diplomat,journalist,and politician. She served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2017 and 2019. Prior to assuming her government position,she was a lecturer.
Brigitte Bierlein was an Austrian jurist who served as president of the Constitutional Court before serving as chancellor of Austria from June 2019 until January 2020. An independent,she was the first woman to hold either office.
Karoline Edtstadler is an Austrian lawyer and politician who has served as minister for the EU and the Constitution at the Austrian Chancellery in the governments of Chancellors Sebastian Kurz,Alexander Schallenberg and Karl Nehammer since 2020. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP),she previously served as a State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior from 2017 to 2019 and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 until 2020.
In Austria,a minister is a member of the Cabinet that usually leads a ministry or a division of the Chancellery.
Events from the year 2019 in Austria.
An election was held in Austria on 26 May 2019 to elect the country's 18 members of the European Parliament. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) gained two seats for a total of seven,while the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and The Greens each lost one.
The Ibiza affair,also known as Ibiza-gate,was a political scandal in Austria involving Heinz-Christian Strache,the former vice chancellor of Austria and leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ),as well as Johann Gudenus,formerly a deputy leader of the Freedom Party.
The Bierlein government was the 32nd Government of Austria following the collapse of the First Kurz government headed by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in the aftermath of the Ibiza affair. Sworn in on 3 June 2019,the Bierlein government was the first purely technocratic government in Austrian history,first new government after a successful motion of no confidence in Parliament and first government headed by a female chancellor. As head of government,Brigitte Bierlein was assisted by Clemens Jabloner as vice-chancellor.
Alexander Georg Nicolas Schallenberg is an Austrian diplomat,jurist,and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021,previously holding the office from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP),he held the position in the second government of Sebastian Kurz,before briefly serving as 28th chancellor of Austria as Kurz's successor from 11 October to 6 December 2021.
Alma Zadić is a Bosnian-born Austrian lawyer and politician of the Green Party. She has been serving as Minister of Justice since 7 January 2020 in the governments of Chancellors Sebastian Kurz,Alexander Schallenberg and Karl Nehammer.
Team HC Strache –Alliance for Austria is a political party in Austria. It was founded in December 2019 under the name The Alliance for Austria by three former members of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) led by Karl Baron. In February 2020,former FPÖleader Heinz-Christian Strache confirmed he would run for the DAÖin the 2020 Viennese state election. The party subsequently promoted Strache to federal party chairman and adopted its current name. The party failed to win seats in the election.
