Number of Referendums Increased, But Chances of Success Decreased

Between 1964 and 2017, 39 popular initiatives took place, with 90 percent meeting the requirements for parliamentary consideration. In 2018, the option was introduced to support them with ID-Austria. Since then, 67 popular initiatives have been carried out, but only 69 percent of them were successful.

Majority of Popular Initiatives are Signed Online

For their concern to be dealt with in the National Council, an initiative needs at least 100,000 signatures or the support of one-sixth of the eligible voters in three federal states. According to the parliament, 54 percent of signatures and declarations of support are now submitted online. Previously, supporters of a popular initiative had to appear in person at the registration office of their own municipality. With the reform, the success rate of popular initiatives has decreased. Since 2018, 46 have overcome the hurdle for entry into the National Council, which is just under 69 percent. Only the "Don't smoke" popular initiative launched by the Medical Association and the Cancer Aid made it into the top ten of the most successful initiatives. It landed in sixth place with 881,692 declarations of support and signatures. From 1964 to 2017, however, 35 initiatives and thus about 90 percent were successful.

After Change: Popular Initiatives as a Business Model

The debate on popular initiatives in the National Council is now less intense. Before 2018, these were often discussed several times in a committee, often followed by resolution proposals, in six cases even separate committees for the preliminary discussion of a popular initiative. Only 12 of the 35 initiatives in this period were discussed only once in the committee and plenary, since 2018 this has been the case for a majority of 36 of the 46 popular initiatives. Since then, there have been resolution proposals for six popular initiatives, no special committees for preliminary discussion. Money can also be made with popular initiatives - 13,686 euros can be received per successful popular initiative due to the fivefold refund of fees. According to the parliament, individual groups of initiators are increasingly launching popular initiatives on the same or similar topics. Previously, they primarily came from trade unions, parties or civil society actors. It also happens now that initiators submit two popular initiatives with opposing positions - such as "Smoke - YES" and "Smoke - NO" from 2020. However, the political discussion about a change in the refund of costs has so far fizzled out.

(APA/Red)

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