Freedom in the World 2001 - Austria

2001 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 1.0
Civil Liberties: 1
Political Rights: 1

Overview

Extensive diplomatic sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) greeted Austria at the dawn of the new millennium, after Jorg Haider's nationalist Freedom Party joined the ruling coalition, led by center-right chancellor Wolfgang Schussel. The government faced public demonstrations at the end of the year over the government's budget cuts. A dispute developed during the year between Austria and the Czech Republic, over the latter country's decision to begin operating a Soviet-designed nuclear power plant close to the Austrian border. The issue was defused by the end of the year when the Czech government agreed to Austrian demands for international monitoring at the plant.

The Republic of Austria was established in 1918, after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was reborn in 1945, seven years after its annexation by Nazi Germany. Occupation by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union ended in 1955 under the Austrian State Treaty, which guaranteed Austrian neutrality and restored national sovereignty.

Past pro-Nazi remarks by Haider, along with populist, xenophobic denunciations of immigrants, prompted the EU to impose sanctions against Austria at the beginning of 2000. In March 1999, Haider, the son of a former minor Nazi Party official, espousing an anti-immigrant platform, was elected governor of the southern province of Carinthia. By then his party already held 40 out of 183 national council seats. In national elections held later in the year, Haider's party captured 26.9 percent of the popular vote, shunting the government's junior coalition partner, the Christian Democratic Austrian People's Party (OVP), into third place and chipping away substantially at the dominance of the ruling Social Democrat Party's (SPO). Analysts had speculated at the time that the Freedom Party's strong electoral finish was due in part to public displeasure with coalition politics, high taxes, and an austerity budget.

Despite Haider's resignation as Freedom Party leader in February 2000, the EU maintained sanctions against Austria, claiming the Freedom Party platform had not changed. Susanne Riess-Passer assumed the party leadership. Haider, who does not hide his ambition to one day become Austrian chancellor, remains governor of Carinthia. As early as April, however, consensus among EU member-states on the sanctions began to crumble. Finland, a Union member, was the first to break ranks and urge fellow EU members to end their boycott of Austria, claiming the sanctions were hampering EU policy planning.

As pressure continued to mount within the EU, France, which held the EU presidency at the time, requested a human rights report on Austria, the results of which would determine whether sanctions could be lifted. A report filed in September by an EU panel concluded that Austria had not adopted any extreme right-wing policies and sufficiently respected the rights of minorities, refugees, and immigrants. But the report did criticize the Freedom Party as a "right-wing populist party with radical elements," and stated the EU's intention of maintaining a "particular vigilance" over developments in Austria. By the end of September, the sanctions were lifted. In October the Freedom Party suffered setbacks in elections in Styria, Austria's largest province. It captured only 12 percent of the vote compared with 29 percent in general elections in 1999.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Austrians can change their government democratically. The country's provinces possess considerable latitude in local administration and can check federal power by electing members of the upper house of parliament. Voting is compulsory in some provinces. The independent judiciary is headed by a supreme court and includes both constitutional and administrative courts.

A 1955 treaty prohibits Nazis from exercising freedom of assembly and association. Nazi organizations are illegal, but Nazis are welcomed in the Freedom Party. In 1992, public denial of the Holocaust and justification of approval of Nazi crimes against humanity were outlawed. In general, Austrian police enforce these anti-Nazi statutes more enthusiastically when extremists attract international attention. However, Austria was called to task during the year for its Nazi era behavior.

In March, the World Jewish Congress accused Austria of holding art stolen from Jews during World War II. The next month, several lawsuits were filed in American courts seeking $18 billion in Holocaust-era damages. The suits were filed against the Austrian state and industries on behalf of former slave workers and Jews whose property was seized by the state.

Austrian media are free. Legal restrictions on press freedom on the grounds of public morality or national security are rarely invoked. The Austrian Broadcasting Company, which controls radio and television, is state owned, but is protected from political interference by a broadcasting law.

Women hold approximately 10 percent of federal assembly seats and approximately 20 percent of provincial seats. They are prohibited by law from working at night in most occupations. Nurses, taxi drivers, and a few other workers are exempted from this ban. Women generally earn 20 percent less than men and are not allowed to serve in the military. The ruling SPO has pledged to begin to address gender biases by ensuring that women occupy 40 percent of all party and government posts by 2003.

During the year, Austria streamlined the process under which family members may join immigrants already in the country. Police, however, faced charges of brutality and racism against nonwhite, and, ostensibly, foreign immigrants, by Amnesty International. An Amnesty International country report documented cases of nonwhite detainees beaten, kicked, punched and sprayed with pepper gas by police. The report accused the police of not conforming to European human rights conventions and standards.

Under Austria's informal proporz system, many state and private sector appointments – including those of senior teachers in state schools – are made on the basis of affiliation with the two main political parties.

Trade unions retain an important independent voice in Austria's political, social, and economic life. Fifty-two percent of workers are organized in 14 national unions, all of which belong to the Austrian Trade Union Federation and which are managed by supporters of the country's traditional political parties. Although not explicitly guaranteed in the constitution or in national legislation, the right to strike is universally recognized.

Austria's Trade Union Federation organized a demonstration outside the parliament building in Vienna in December to protest the government's budget cuts. The government seeks to eliminate the budget deficit in two years, in part by cutting unemployment benefits, higher charges for prescription and the introduction of tuition fees for university students.