People's referendum in Austria: business auction or citizen participation?

People's referendum in Austria: business auction or citizen participation?

Austria's referendum have become a game ball of interests and business! Since the introduction of online support in 2018, citizens have been able to give their consent to a referendum with just a few clicks without having to go to an office personally. But that also has a dark side: if a referendum receives more than 100,000 signatures, the initiator collects a whopping 17,100 euros. After deducting the fees, a profit of around 13,700 euros remains, which was by no means unnoticed. Manuel Plöchl, the head of the registration office in St. Andrä-Wördern, refers to this as "business auction" and demands that only the costs will be replaced in order to abolish the profit. This should have priority to the “heart matters” of the Austrians, as Plöchl announces in an interview with the ZIB2.

The numbers speak a clear language: the number of referendum has almost doubled since 2018. However, there is no reform on this topic in the government program, which further fueled the debate among politicians. Plöchl's proposal "Stop the referendum" has currently collected around 16,000 declarations of support. He does not think that the 100,000 signature mark is reached, but plans to donate most of the money if so. Attorney Marcus Hohenecker, who has already submitted eight referendums since 2020, sees a "envy debate" in this discussion and has a decisive impact on wanting to make money. "The goal is to bring socially relevant topics to parliament," said Hohenecker.

The way to the referendum