Treat negotiations

Referendum: Will old plans be unpacked?

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Should the people be consulted on controversial issues? A pact for more direct democracy was already agreed in 2017.

The rifts in the Zuckerl coalition are known to be wide. To avoid paralyzing ideological endless debates between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS in the next legislative period, a way out is being discussed in the negotiation rounds - and, as reported by the "Krone" newspaper, this could be called a referendum. The people should be able to vote on controversial issues such as comprehensive schools or property taxes. This idea has some supporters among interest groups in the SPÖ and ÖVP, while the NEOS are, according to negotiating circles, rather less enthusiastic about using this democratic instrument.

 Kurz and Strache agree on democracy package
One party that did not want to comment on the plans, but has been lobbying for more direct democracy for many years, is the Blue Party. As a reminder: in 2017, the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition agreed to make it easier for people to vote in referendums, which was to be decided in 2022. The Ibiza video caused the coalition to collapse in 2019 and put a spanner in the works. In the turquoise-blue coalition negotiations, it was agreed at the time that 900,000 signatures for a referendum would lead to a binding referendum.

"The expansion of citizen participation beyond voting on election day can strengthen trust in politics again," ÖVP veteran Herwig Hösele is convinced.

24 referendums this year
This year, 24 referendums attempted to obtain the necessary 100,000 declarations of support to be dealt with in the National Council. The most successful referendums were those against the conference center in 1982 with more than 1,360,000 signatures and the genetic engineering referendum in 1997 with over 1,225,000 signatures.