Political Development of Austria - Essay Example

The constitution that is being used in Austria is founded in 1920, nonetheless as compromises and other changes are needed, amendments are made in the constitution starting from 1929 up to today. The amendments have helped in increasing the political role of the president, as well as the process of election. Originally the president is elected by the members of the parliament. The amendments give the right of electing the president to the people instead.

Austria is known to have a weak federal system. This is reflected in the way that even though the constitution strictly states that each of Austria's nine provinces shall have jurisdiction over matters that is not under the federal government. These matters that should have been under provincial power involve the laws that are already decided by the federal government. These laws include education, financial and judicial legislation.

The president as in many parliamentary systems plays the ceremonial role. It is said that the president in Austria has the duty of constructing, guarding, and dissolving governments. Since the president is elected by the people, it follows that the president is responsible and liable to the people. In such cases, every action that the president does should promote the welfare of the people. In this view, the president is given the authority to assign members of the cabinet.

In Austria, both the parliament and the government are under the president since the president has the power to dissolve and/or reconstruct both the parliament and the government. The Nationalrat, which is Austria's lower house of the parliament, has been dissolved twice since 1945. It happened in 1986 and 1971.

The president is also granted emergency powers. Emergency powers refer to the authority of the president during an emergency which gives him the right to act even without consulting the Nationalrat first. In such instances, the cabinet needs to give the president the right to conduct provisional laws. Nonetheless, such laws could either be void or implemented by the Nationalrat after four weeks.

The chancellor which is in other parliament referred to as the prime minister is the real head of the government and the parliament. The chancellor is elected and can be dismissed by the president; nonetheless, the chancellor shall be the leader of the political party which holds the highest number of votes or seats in the so-called parliamentary election. The chancellor is the one who functions as the coordinator of the cabinet. However, this does not give him the right to force or order another minister to act or conduct personal orders.

The president has the power to appoint members of the cabinet and also to dismiss the cabinet as a whole. On the other hand, if the president would dismiss only one member of the cabinet, there must be a recommendation that comes from the Chancellor.

The Nationalrat or National Council holds the power that is necessary to create National Legislation. Aside from the president, the nation has the authority to remove the entire cabinet using a "vote of nonconfidence". Unlike the president, the Nationalrat can remove an individual member of the Cabinet using the "vote of nonconfidence".

Treaties, laws, amendments, and other forms of legislation can only be approved or implemented by the Nationalrat. Also, elections could only be legitimate if one-third of the members of the Nationalrat are present, otherwise, the results of the election are considered void. The president shall be a member of the National.

The nine provinces on the other hand are represented by the federal council or the Budesrat. Its function includes the promotion of the provincial interest. However as stated above, this has not been highly effective because the nationalist which is the source of legislation is not directly liable to the budesrat. The purpose of the Bundesrat is then restricted to reviewing and/or delaying the action of the Nationalrat can preserve and increase a provincial's interest.

Austria has two major parties, the Social Democrats (SPO) and the Conservative People's Party (OVP). The SPO is the one who is responsible for the full-employment policy in Austria, along with the legislation that prioritizes the promotion of industries and the extension of benefits in their Social Security System. They are also known to pursue open market trades which garnered the favor of the constituents of the industrialized economy and urban areas. The OVP on the other hand focused on the privatization of nationally owned industries and the allocation of financial budget. They are favored by most Catholic groups as well as by the constituents of small businesses and those who reside in rural areas.

Another important party that seems to play a crucial role in Austria's politics is the Freedom Movement Party. The party is said to be against immigration and the interference brought to the internal policies of Austria by the European Union. The party is specifically against immigrants who in their perspective stole the job from Austrian laborers.
In 2000, the Freedom Movement Party and the Conservative people's party forms a coalition that won the 2000 election by almost 54 percent. Read More