Proporz

The federal grand coalition was renewed after every election until 1966. During the ensuing 21 years, an elaborate system was set up throughout the political and public service, in which partisan officials were appointed in an attempt to give approximately equal influence to both the ÖVP and SPÖ. Within the federal cabinet, state secretaries of one party were typically appointed to ministries controlled by the other. In addition, certain cabinet portfolios were nearly always awarded to one party or the other by convention; examples include the Ministry of Labour for the SPÖ and the Ministry of Agriculture for the ÖVP.[1] On its own, this is in line with common practice in many countries with coalition government, but the extent to which the parties sought to institutionalise these divisions became synonymous with Proporz.[2]

In 1949, Proporz was expanded to include the senior management of nationalized industry. After the success of the right-wing Federation of Independents in the 1949 election, the government sought to limit its influence by applying Proporz at all levels of administration. This included the Austrian "social partnership", in which workers, farmers, and employers are represented in government by four elected bodies. The SPÖ headed the Chamber of Labour and Austrian Trade Union Federation, while the ÖVP headed the Austrian Economic Chamber and Chamber of Agriculture.

From 1958 onwards, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) was headed by four officials – two from each party – with the ÖVP having responsibility for radio and the SPÖ for television, which at this stage was in its infancy. After the importance of television became clear, the parties began to wrestle for influence. This was resolved by a secret agreement made during negotiations for the second Gorbach government, in which the parties agreed that every senior position in radio and television be shared between a director from one party and deputy director from the other. After the agreement was leaked to the Kurier, the newspaper began a petition for a referendum to remove political influence over the ORF. The requirement of 200,000 signatures was overwhelmingly exceeded, with 832,353 received between 5 and 12 October 1964. However, the bill for the referendum never made it beyond committee in the National Council because the governing parties, which headed the committees, feared losing influence.[3] A bill scrapping the ORF's Proporz arrangement was ultimately passed during the single-party ÖVP government of Josef Klaus in 1966, and came into effect in 1967.

Proporz, particularly the concept of consensus government, did not fade after the end of the first period of grand coalition. During the SPÖ majority governments of Bruno Kreisky in the 1970s and 80s, the ÖVP was frequently consulted regarding government decisions and legislation; as such, the opposition was never truly shut out of decision-making.

Proporz was written into the constitutions of most of the federal states in the 1940s. This particular implementation automatically entitled parties to cabinet positions if they won enough votes in state elections; in essence, proportional representation applied to the cabinet. Until 1999, every state government with the exception of Vorarlberg operated in this manner. This effectively meant that the typical conventions of parliamentary democracy did not apply, as the partisan composition of governments was determined automatically. However, investiture of cabinet ministers, including the Governor, typically required the approval of the state legislature.[1]

Initially, this model effectively guaranteed the ÖVP and SPÖ joint dominance over state governments, as other parties were typically too small to win any more than one cabinet position. However, the rise in popularity of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and The Greens from the 1980s onwards saw the major parties increasingly forced to share their power. This form of Proporz has since been repealed in most states; first in Salzburg and Tyrol in 1999, then Styria[4] and Burgenland[5] in 2015, and Carinthia in 2017.[6] The model in Vienna, which is based on the municipal implementation, allows governments to deny portfolio to ministers from the opposition. The original system only remains in force in Lower Austria and Upper Austria.[1]

Most cities' statutes still provide for Proporz in city council positions, much the same as on the state level. Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Wiener Neustadt all have such regulations, and thus city councillors from the opposition.[1]