Drexler's plan

250 Styrian laws get an expiration date

Governor Christopher Drexler and university professor Christoph Bezemek

(Bild: STVP)

Styrian Governor Christopher Drexler has announced a reduction in bureaucracy and regulations for the period after the state elections. For example, he wants to subject all 250 state laws to a "vibration test". 

The current governing coalition of ÖVP and SPÖ will not really go down in state history for its zeal for reform. In contrast to the legendary "reform partnership" of Franz Voves and Hermann Schützenhöfer, who merged municipalities and districts, Christopher Drexler (ÖVP) and Anton Lang (SPÖ) have so far hardly shown any willingness to change.

"Shake test" for 250 Styrian laws
If the governor has his way, this is now set to change. As early as the first session of the new provincial parliament in January 2025, the ÖVP wants to introduce a law that will put all of the other 250 or so provincial laws to the test.

Drexler calls the check on the proportionality and necessity of all regulations and ordinances that make life difficult for entrepreneurs in particular a "shake test". "It's about reducing bureaucracy in administrative processes as much as possible," says the ÖVP leader, who plans to give the state laws an expiration date - in other words, to abolish them by 31 December 2027. In the end, only around 200 are to remain. Support comes from university professor Christoph Bezemek, who describes the move as "extremely courageous", even "radical".