Request freedom: Strengthening direct democracy now! Shame for the traffic lights?

Request freedom: Strengthening direct democracy now! Shame for the traffic lights?

Wien, Österreich - Norbert Nemeth, Deputy Club Manager of the Freedom of Austria (FPÖ), has commented on the situation of direct democracy in Austria in a current statement. It describes the latest changes to the rules of procedure in conjunction with the Freedom of Information Act as positive news, but emphasizes that the government shows little commitment to strengthening direct democracy. According to [ots] (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250709_ots0105/fpoe-nemeth-staerk, the-democracy-tampelkoalition-kein lounger-tin-an-an-an-an-anst-an-an-anst-an-an-anst-an-anst-act request have been brought in than in the entire 60 years earlier. This proves the growing interest of the citizens in co -determination.

The freedoms have developed a comprehensive concept for the National Council election 2024, which puts the expansion of direct democracy in the foreground. However, the topic is not dealt with in the current government program of the traffic light coalition, which consists of the parties black, red and pink. From September 1, 2025, freedom of information is to be implemented in parliament, with information published by general interest on the parliamentary homepage.

contradictions in information policy

nemeth also criticizes the different deadlines for answering inquiries. Citizens must expect a period of four weeks, while MPs have eight weeks to react to ministerial inquiries. He wants to bring this discrepancy into future debates. The frequent adaptation of the rules of procedure, which has been changed a total of 29 times since 1920, and seven times in the last legislative period alone appears to him. In his opinion, this "legal inflation" reduces the readability of the regulations and leads to unreflected adjustments to EU law.

Direct democracy in Austria looks back on a long history that extends until 1919 when it was introduced in Vorarlberg. The other federal states gradually followed, which developed their own regulations for referendums and referendums between 1921 and the 1980s. According to [hpb.univie.ac.at] (https://hpb.univie.at/online-dossiers/direkt-emocracy/fachlichlichlichlichlicht--De.-DeiT- Democracy/), all nine federal states have now anchored institutions of direct democracy in their state constitutions.

mechanisms of citizen participation

referendums can be initiated at the state level, whereby the provisions vary depending on the federal state. In Vorarlberg, for example, a referendum is possible if 10,000 citizens' applications are received within eight weeks after the law decision. But not all initiatives are successful, as an example from Tyrol shows, where a referendum with 3,086 signatures failed in 2009.

A specific procedure for the implementation of a referendum stipulates that at least 1 per thousand of the resident population, i.e. currently around 8,969 people who have to support the introduction. This support is also one of the 100,000 signatures required to achieve parliamentary treatment. After the introductory phase, an entry week of eight days follows in which citizens can make their signature personally or online, as parlament.gv.at. In summary, it can be said that the current situation of direct democracy in Austria offers both challenges and opportunities. The handling of the traffic light coalition with the topic is viewed critically by the FPÖ and could become more important in political discussions in the next few months.