The hurdles for political newcomers are traditionally quite high. In total, more than 80 parties have tried since 1945, but only ten have made it into parliament. Party splits have been the most successful so far. These usually started in parliament before the election.
The party system in Austria is very stable. In addition to the major parties ÖVP and SPÖ, which have existed since 1945, the FPÖ have been established parliamentary parties since 1956 and the Greens since 1986. The NEOS only joined eleven years ago. Apart from these five current parliamentary parties and the KPÖ, which only sat in the National Council between 1945 and 1959, only four other political groups have made it into the National Council in recent decades.
FPÖ splits
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Three of them started as a new parliamentary group in the National Council before the election by splitting off or defecting. This meant that the newcomers were able to use the National Council’s stage and club support right from the start. These lists also saved themselves the laborious task of collecting declarations of support with three signatures from MPs that were required to run in the election. This also applies to the fourth party: list founder Peter Pilz did not have club status as a renegade Green MP, but he also organized the necessary signatures in parliament.
FPÖ splits have enriched the political stage twice so far: in 1993, the third President of the National Council, Heide Schmidt, and four other MPs left the FPÖ in protest against the xenophobic stance of FPÖ leader Jörg Haider and founded their own parliamentary group. In the National Council election a year later, the Liberal Forum received 6 percent, in the new election in 1995 it received 5.5 percent, and four years later the party failed to clear the four percent hurdle.
Another FPÖ split-off was the most successful splinter party to date: the BZÖ. The Alliance for the Future of Austria was founded in 2005 by the FPÖ leadership around the Carinthian governor Jörg Haider after years of internal party disputes over the direction of the Freedom Party’s participation in government. The entire FPÖ government team and almost the entire parliamentary group were on board. In the 2006 National Council elections, the orange group only narrowly held on to parliament, but in 2008 the party grew to 10.7 percent. Haider died shortly afterwards and in 2013 the BZÖ was thrown out of parliament.
List Now with short lifespan
The Greens’ spin-off, Liste Jetzt, had a much shorter lifespan. It was founded in 2017 shortly before the election, initially as the Peter Pilz list, by the Greens’ representative of the same name, who felt that he had not been sufficiently appreciated when the list was drawn up. His revenge was bitter for the Greens: with 4.4 percent of the vote, the list entered the National Council with eight representatives, while the Greens were thrown out of parliament. In the National Council election two years later, the Greens turned the tables and celebrated a brilliant comeback, and Liste Jetzt was eliminated from parliament.
Team Stronach was not a split, but it was already in parliament before the election. After it was founded by the Austrian-Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach, MPs from the SPÖ and BZÖ clubs joined the new party in 2012, so that a separate club could be formed in the National Council. Accusations of vote buying were rejected. In the 2013 election, Team Stronach achieved 5.7 percent, but disbanded before the end of the legislative period.
Barrier clause as the biggest hurdle
The biggest hurdle for small parties, in addition to the financial expenditure during the election campaign, is the four percent threshold. Of the lists running this time, the Beer Party and the Communist Party have been above the four percent threshold in surveys over the past few months. The Madeleine Petrovic (LMP) list and the Change, which is listed as “None” on the ballot paper, have never received more than one percent. The Beer Party is currently at 4.7 percent in the APA election trend, which takes into account surveys from the past five weeks and weights them according to timeliness, and the Communists at 2.5 percent.
A consolation for the unsuccessful small parties may be a result of at least one percent of the vote. In this case, they will receive funding within six months of the election in accordance with the Party Funding Act: currently, this is 3.16 euros per vote received in the National Council election.
ePaper
The Challenges of Political Newcomers in Austria: Overcoming the Hurdles
Austria’s political landscape has been dominated by a few established parties for decades, making it challenging for new parties to enter the scene. Since 1945, more than 80 parties have attempted to break into the National Council, but only ten have succeeded. Party splits have been the most successful strategy so far, often starting as new parliamentary groups in the National Council before the election.
The Stable Party System in Austria
The party system in Austria is characterized by stability, with the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) being the dominant forces since 1945. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) has been a established parliamentary party since 1956, and the Greens since 1986. The NEOS joined the scene only eleven years ago. Apart from these five current parliamentary parties and the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ), which only sat in the National Council between 1945 and 1959, only four other political groups have made it into the National Council in recent decades.
FPÖ Splits: A Successful Strategy
Three of these successful newcomers started as new parliamentary groups in the National Council before the election by splitting off or defecting from the FPÖ. This allowed them to use the National Council’s stage and club support right from the start, saving them the laborious task of collecting declarations of support with three signatures from MPs required to run in the election. The FPÖ splits have enriched the political stage twice so far: in 1993, the Liberal Forum was founded, and in 2005, the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) was established.
Short-Lived Spin-Offs
Not all spin-offs have been successful. The Greens’ spin-off, Liste Jetzt, had a short lifespan, founded in 2017 shortly before the election. It entered the National Council with eight representatives, but was eliminated from parliament two years later. Team Stronach, founded by Austrian-Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach, was not a split, but it was already in parliament before the election. It achieved 5.7% in the 2013 election, but disbanded before the end of the legislative period.
**The Four Percent
Freedom Party of Austria
The Challenges of Political Newcomers in Austria: Overcoming the Hurdles
Austria’s political landscape has traditionally been dominated by a few established parties, making it challenging for newcomers to break into the scene. Since 1945, over 80 parties have attempted to enter the parliament, but only ten have successfully done so. Party splits have been the most successful way for new parties to emerge, often starting as a new parliamentary group in the National Council before the election.
FPÖ Splits
The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) has experienced two significant splits, enriching the political stage with new parties. In 1993, five MPs, including Heide Schmidt, the third President of the National Council, left the FPÖ in protest against the xenophobic stance of FPÖ leader Jörg Haider and founded their own parliamentary group, the Liberal Forum. Although the party received 6 percent of the vote in the 1994 National Council election, it failed to clear the four percent hurdle four years later.
Another FPÖ split-off was the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), founded in 2005 by the FPÖ leadership around Carinthian governor Jörg Haider. The party grew to 10.7 percent in the 2008 National Council election but was eventually thrown out of parliament in 2013.
Liste Jetzt with Short Lifespan
The Greens’ spin-off, Liste Jetzt, was founded in 2017 by Peter Pilz, a Greens’ representative who felt undervalued when the list was drawn up. With 4.4 percent of the vote, the list entered the National Council with eight representatives, while the Greens were thrown out of parliament. However, in the 2019 National Council election, the Greens staged a comeback, and Liste Jetzt was eliminated from parliament.
Barrier Clause as the Biggest Hurdle
The biggest hurdle for political newcomers in Austria is the barrier clause, which requires parties to collect declarations of support with three signatures from MPs to run in the election. This laborious task can be circumvented by starting as a new parliamentary group in the National Council before the election, as seen in the cases of FPÖ splits and Liste Jetzt. However, this is not a guarantee of success, and many parties have failed to overcome the hurdles and make it into parliament.
Recent Developments
In recent news, Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz, and the populist Czech ANO party led by Andrej Babis have formed a new alliance [1, 2]. This move is seen as a significant development in Austria’s political landscape and may have implications for the country’s political newcomers.
the challenges for political newcomers in Austria are significant, and the barrier clause is the biggest hurdle to overcome. However, party splits and innovative strategies can provide opportunities for new parties to emerge and succeed.
References:
[1] Austria’s far right announces new alliance with Orban, populist Czech party
[2] <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/austrian-fpo-parties-orban-babis-announce-new-political-alliance-2024-06-
