People's request against ORF levy: Financial intentions revealed!

People's request against ORF levy: Financial intentions revealed!

St. Andrä-Wördern, Österreich - The referendum against the ORF levy is currently being considered in the political discussion. Initiator Robert Marschall, who has already participated in several successful referendums, pursues the abolition of this tax with his current project and calls for support. The question arises whether some initiators of the referendums want to enrich themselves financially. The politician Manu Plöchl from St. Andrä-Wördern criticizes that the initiators could receive a profit of almost 14,000 euros when the required 100,000 signatures could be reached. This leads to his demand that only contributions should be reimbursed.

The legal framework provides that the cost contributions in five times the amount of five must be repaid in the case of parliamentary treatment of the referendum. This represents a significant cost burden for the state. According to Plöchl, registrations for referendums increase, which he calls "business idea" for private people. The boom in referendum has been observed above all since the introduction of electronic support. In 2023, 19 referendums were signed around 2.37 million times, which previously surpassed the record years. There are currently three referendum on submission, while there are 33 initiatives in the support phase that deal with topics such as election obligation in the Federal President election, the exit from the WHO and the abolition of summer time.

Current initiatives and their importance

At the registration week in March, 14 new referendum can be supported. In order to apply for the initiation of a referendum, it is necessary that the application is supported by a per thousand of the Austrian resident population, i.e. 8,969 people. After the application was admitted, at least 100,000 voters or a sixth of the voters from three federal states must sign for the referendum. This procedure is regulated in the 2018 Pens Request Act, which also includes registration with the Federal Minister of the Interior and the subsequent registration in the central voter register.

At the same time, it is noted that referendums are not legally binding. MPs decide on implementation in individual cases, which relativizes the influence on possible changes in the law. Nevertheless, the process of citizen participation remains an important instrument in Austrian democracy. Folk petitions are planned in the constitutions of all federal states, only matters of enforcement or changes to state laws are excluded from this procedure.

Financial implications and future reforms

The current expenses for the processing of the referendum are significant for the federal government. A flat rate compensation of 40 cents per voting citizen to the municipalities leads to costs of over 2.5 million euros per registration period. This raises the question of meaningfulness and has made demands for a reform of the Folk Course Act loud to prevent private enrichments through tax money in the future.

The focus on the referendum is expected to remain in 2024, since the relief through electronic support after 2018 has significantly simplified access to these procedures. The discussions about the upcoming initiatives and the accompanying financial aspects show that citizen participation remains a central topic of the current political landscape in Austria. Exxpress.at reports that the referendum is in full swing against the ORF output and DerStandard emphasizes that the number of referendum has increased through online votes. Find out more at Austria.gv.at .