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).
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 second country in Central Europe to legalise same-sex marriage after Germany, the 16th in Europe, and the 25th worldwide. Austria has also recognised same-sex registered partnerships since 1 January 2010, providing several, but not all, of the rights, benefits, obligations and responsibilities of marriage.
Roitham am Traunfall is a municipality in the district of Gmunden in the Austrian state of Upper Austria.
The 1955 Austrian State Treaty ended the four-power occupation and recognized Austria as an independent and sovereign state. In October 1955, the Federal Assembly passed a constitutional law in which "Austria declares of her own free will her perpetual neutrality." The second section of this law stated that "in all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases on her territory." Since then, Austria has shaped its foreign policy on the basis of neutrality.
The Freedom Party of Austria is a national-conservative, right-wing populist, political party in Austria. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the third largest of five parties in the National Council, with 30 of the 183 seats, and won 16.2% of votes cast in the 2019 legislative election. It is represented in all nine state legislatures, and a member of two state cabinets. On a European level, the FPÖ is a founding member of the Identity and Democracy Party and its three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sit with the Identity and Democracy (ID) group.
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.
Oliver Rathkolb is an Austrian historian and professor for contemporary history at the University of Vienna.
Hans Peter Doskozil is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria serving as governor of Burgenland. 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, environmentalist, feminist, trade unionist and politician who served as chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) between November 2018 and June 2023. She was the first woman to lead the SPÖ.
In the run-up to the next 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 is likely to be held in 2024.
Legislative elections will be held in Austria by autumn 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 Carinthian state election was held in the Austrian state of Carinthia on 5 March 2023.
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 chairwoman or chairman. 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 Babler is an Austrian politician serving as Chair of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, 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.
