Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismus-Forschung

Europäische Länderberichte

Föderalismus in Österreich  Jänner 2002 bis Februar 2003: Zwischen Stillstand und Umbruch

Armin Mühlböck / Alexander Neunherz / Andreas Strasser / Christine Tyma

S. 204-221

The article below will evaluate recent developments in the Austrian federal system. Central to these were the implementation of the Administrative Reform Act 2001, the impact of the latest national census, as well as the consequences of the break-of of Austrias national government coalition.
In 2002, federalism in Austria, as in the years before, was overshadowed by federal governments budgetary consolidation attempts.
The Verwaltungsreformpaket 2001, the Administrative Reform Act of 2001, was central for restructuring the relations between federal, provincial, and communal authorities. Overlapping responsibilities were reduced and complex administrative processes simplified, provincial and communal governments strengthened. It is, however, too early to say if and how these reforms will enhance the administrative effectiveness.
The outcome of the national census 2001 has had great financial impact for many local and regional authorities, with financial winners as well as losers. The census is the basis for the financial distribution of resources between the federal as well as the provincial and local government. As the local and provincial administrations have to contribute extensively for the federal budgetary consolidation activities this has made their financial situation even more precarious.
The end of the FPÖ and ÖVP federal coalition and the preparations for the parliamentary elections in November 2002 abruptly brought an end to federal state reform activities. The election campaign and coalition negotiations between the main parties after the elections, however, revitalised the ongoing reform debate. A comprehensive federal reform, so the overall party opinions, should restructure the federal system all over. Considering the opposing interests between federal, provincial, and local government this will nevertheless prove to be a difficult task.
The future development for the federal systems will also be strongly affected by the upcoming communal and provincial elections in some Austrian provinces.

Zitiervorschlag für diesen Artikel:
Mühlböck, Armin/Neunherz, Alexander/Strasser, Andreas/Tyma, Christine 2003: Föderalismus in Österreich  Jänner 2002 bis Februar 2003: Zwischen Stillstand und Umbruch, in: Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismus-Forschung (Hrsg.): Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2003. Föderalismus, Subsidiarität und Regionen in Europa, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, S. 204-221.