Austria

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Austria

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This article lists political parties in Austria. Austria has a multi-party system. Of the over 700 registered parties, only few are known to a larger public; since the 1980s, four parties have consistently received enough votes to get seats in the national parliament.

Contents 1 The parties 1.1 Current parties in parliament 1.2 Current parties formerly in parliament 1.3 Current minor parties 1.4 Minor historical contemporary parties 1.5 Major historical parties 1.6 Minor historical parties 1.6.1 External links of some other minor parties 2 See also 3 Further reading

[edit] The parties

[edit] Current parties in parliament

• Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich) (BZÖ) - It was led by Jörg Haider until his death on October 11, 2008. The BZÖ is a national conservative party which broke away from the Freedom Party of Austria. It participated in the government until January 2007.

• Freedom Party of Austria (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs) (FPÖ) - Is a national conservative party. After the 1999 elections, it joined the government coalition with the ÖVP until 2006. It has since lost the support it gained in the 1999 elections.

• The Greens – The Green Alternative (Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative) (Grüne) - Is an environmentalist party which is the smallest party in parliament.

• Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei) (ÖVP) - Is a Christian democratic and conservative party and the post-war heir of the Christian Social Party. It has alternated in post-war rule in coalitions with the Social Democratic Party. Since January 2007 it is in a coalition with the SPÖ.

• Social Democratic Party of Austria (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs) (SPÖ) - traditional social-democratic party, alternating in post-war rule in coalitions with the People's Party. Since January 2007 it is in coalition with the ÖVP.

[edit] Current parties formerly in parliament

• Communist Party of Austria (Kommunistische Partei Österreichs) (KPÖ) - once a relatively significant force in national and provincial level, it declined markedly after the 1950s. However, in 2005 it returned to the provincial legislature in Styria for the first time since 1970.

• Liberal Forum (Liberales Forum) (LiF) - a liberal party which broke away from the Freedom Party in 1993, it lost all seats on a national level in 1999; In 2006, it entered an electoral alliance with the SPÖ in return for a parliament seat for its chairman, Alexander Zach - who lost this seat again after the snap election 2008.

[edit] Current minor parties

• Communist Initiative (Kommunistische Initiative) (KI)
• Animal Rights Party (Tierrechtspartei) (TRP)
• Black-Yellow Alliance (Schwarz-Gelbe Allianz) (SGA)
• Certainly – Absolutely – Independent (Sicher – Absolut – Unabhängig) (SAU)
• Christian Electoral Community (Christliche Wählergemeinschaft) (CWG)
• The Christians (Die Christen) (DC)
• Citizens' Forum (Bürgerforum) (FRITZ)
• Initiativ€2000 (IVE)
• Left (Linke) (LINKE)
• Neutral Free Austria (Neutrales Freies Österreich) (NFÖ)
• Pirate Party of Austria (Piratenpartei Österreichs) (PPÖ)
• Save Austria (Rettet Österreich) (RETTÖ)
• Socialist Left Party (Sozialistische LinksPartei) (SLP)
• The Social Liberals (Die Sozialliberalen) (SoL)
• Enotna Lista (Unity List, party of the Carinthian Slovenes) (EL)

[edit] Minor historical contemporary parties

• The Democrats (Die Demokraten)
• The Independents (Die Unabhängigen) (DU)
• No to NATO and EU (Nein zu NATO und EU)

[edit] Major historical parties

• Christian Social Party (Christlichsoziale Partei) (CSP)
• Country League (Landbund)
• Fatherland's Front (Vaterländische Front) (VF)
• Federation of Independents (Verband der Unabhängigen) (VdU)
• Greater German People's Party (Großdeutsche Volkspartei) (GDVP)
• National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) (Nazi Party)
• Social Democratic Workers Party of Austria (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs) (SDAPÖ, now SPÖ)

[edit] Minor historical parties

• Communist League of Austria (Kommunistischer Bund Österreichs) (KBÖ)
• League of Democratic Socialists (Bund Demokratischer Sozialisten) (BDS)
• Marxist-Leninist Party of Austria (Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Österreichs) (MLPÖ)
• Union of Revolutionary Workers of Austria (Marxist-Leninist) (Vereinigung Revolutionärer Arbeiter Österreichs (Marxisten-Leninisten)) (VRAÖ)

[edit] External links of some other minor parties

• Yahoo Deutschland Parties directory Austria
• Christliche Wählergemeinschaft official web site (Christian Voters'Community)
• ArbeiterInnenstandpunkt official web site (Workers' Standpoint Group)
• Ökologische Linke official web site (Ecological Left)
• Österreichische Naturgesetzpartei official web site (Austrian Natural Law Party)

[edit] See also

• Index of political parties to browse parties by name
• List of political parties to browse parties by country
• List of political parties by ideology to browse parties by name
• Membership of internationals to browse parties by membership of internationals
• History of Austria
• Liberalism in Austria

[edit] Further reading

• Müller, Wolfgang; and Franz Fallend (November 2004). "Changing Patterns of Party Competition in Austria: From Multipolar to Bipolar System". West European Politics 27 (5): 801–835. doi:10.1080/0140238042000283319. 

v • d • e Political parties in Austria Bracketed numbers indicate number of seats in the respective parliaments. National Council (2008) Social Democratic Party (57)  · People's Party (51) · Freedom Party (34)  · Alliance for the Future of Austria (21)  · Greens (20) Federal Council (indirect election) Social Democratic Party (28) · People's Party (26) · Greens (3) · Alliance for the Future of Austria (2) · Freedom Party (2) · Citizens' Forum (1) European Parliament (2009) People's Party (6) · Social Democratic Party (4) · Hans-Peter Martin's List (3) · Freedom Party (2) · Greens (2) Landtag(e) only Communist Party (Styria, 2005) Politics of Austria · Politics portal · List of political parties by country

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