Zadić: Strengthening the referendum - democracy needs direct citizen participation!

Zadić: Strengthening the referendum - democracy needs direct citizen participation!

Österreich - On April 8, 2025, Alma Zadić, deputy club chairwoman and justice and constitutional spokeswoman for the Greens, commented on the planned change in referendum. She emphasized the crucial role of referendum as an important instrument of direct democracy. Zadić made it clear that intended changes should strengthen access to referendum to ensure that initiatives can continue to be brought to parliament from the population. A central point of your argument is the proposal of a reimbursement of costs for initiators to cover costs for printing and applying.

"People's request should not be a source of income for a few people," she clarified. The focus is on referendum that represented real concerns of the population. This should be done by checking additional areas, including the two division of the procedure in support and entries, deadlines for the introduction of referendums to parliament and the treatment of these desires in parliament. These considerations are part of a broader discussion about citizen participation in political will formation.

meaning of citizen participation

The discussion about citizen participation is not only up to date, but is also of great importance historically and theoretically. The Federal Center for Political Education addresses the area of tension between representative and direct democracy and emphasizes that Introduction of referendum and referendum in the current political discussion is not dominant but still relevant. The experiences from the Weimar Republic and National Socialism led to continuing skepticism towards plebiscaries.
In many other European countries, such as Switzerland or Ireland, the advantages of systematically integrated referendums are shown.

An empirical analysis proves that Plebiscite can act as a corrective for governments. In Switzerland, for example, constitutional changes and essential laws must be approved by referendum. Empirical studies show that the acceptance and rejection of referenders in Switzerland are largely balanced, which shows the stability of participation.

referendum in international comparison

Austria has developed a system for referendum that is strongly shaped by parliament. In comparison, countries such as Italy often enable social reforms through numerous referendums. The Federal Center for Political Education emphasizes that different experiences with referenders have been had in Western Europe, often influenced by party political conflicts. An example of this is Ireland that has far -reaching opportunities for referendums that often achieve high approval rates.

In a further context, the relevance and the use of plebiscitarian elements in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany are also discussed. Historical examples show that Plebiscite does not necessarily have to deliver negative results. Legislators could benefit from a critical review of the arguments against the introduction of such elements in the current political context.

The current proposals for reforming the reform in Austria could not only be important for internal country, but also set impulses for more direct democracy at European level.