Schledlitz: How broken can our parliament be? - Democracy in danger!

Schledlitz: How broken can our parliament be? - Democracy in danger!

Wien, Österreich - On April 25, 2025, the FPÖ general secretary Michael Schledlitz commented on a current incident in parliament. As part of a debate about the family reunification, the third National Council President Bures (SPÖ) issued an order call to the FPÖ federal party chairman Herbert Kickl. Schledlitz criticized the associated use of the term "lie", which he described as a worrying development in a democracy. This is in a strong contrast to free word use, which is of central importance in a parliament.

Schledlitz warned of an excessive practice of orders, which he sees as a restriction of the parliamentary discussion. In his statements, he draws a comparison to the time of the "black hours" of parliamentarianism in the 1930s, when the political argument was characterized by increasing radicalization. "Democracy risk in parliament has no place," he emphasized vehemently and called for better protection for democracy and the free word.

order call as a parliamentary instrument

The order call is an important means of the meeting in parliament, not only in Austria, but also in Germany. It serves to warn members and regulate disruptions such as interjections or insults. In the German Bundestag, the rules for the order call in the rules of procedure are determined, whereby the meeting line has certain powers to interrupt disruptive speakers. However, there are also parliamentary traditions without a direct legal framework, such as the complaints in the Bundestag, which is only considered a custom. The current practice shows that ordinance calls, in particular since the AfD moved into the parliament, have increased again, which shows how intensively the political discourse is conducted.

In addition, the statistics show that the number of orders has fluctuated sharply in recent decades. While a total of 132 order calls were issued in the legislative period from 1983 to 1987, the number fell significantly in the following years. Between 2008 and 2011, over 100 orders were granted in the Austrian National Council, mostly on opposition parties. Gerald Grosz and Peter Pilz are at the top of this list.

The context of parliamentarianism

In order to understand the importance of these debates and instruments, it is important to look at the historical context of parliamentarianism. German parliamentarianism has its origin in England and has developed over centuries. The first representatives in Germany were built in the 18th century, but real reforms only started after the revolution of 1848. This eventful time was shaped by the search for a stable and representative form of the government.

The political instability of the Weimar Republic and the weaknesses of the Reichstag ultimately led to abuse of parliamentarianism through radical forces. The resulting changes and the undermining of parliamentary democracy have created the conditions under which today's political disputes have to be understood. The political framework that denounces Schledlitz are part of a complex historical heritage that also shapes the current discussion about freedom of expression and parliamentary order.