Austria

I

Transport

Austria has a highly developed system of rail, air, water, and road transport. In 2005 the country had some 5,781 km (3,592 mi) of railways, about 98 per cent of which were owned by the state. As a landlocked and mountainous country, Austria depends on rail passage for a major share of its foreign trade. Motorways and roads totalled about 33,715 km (20,950 mi) in 1995. Water transport is confined largely to the Danube. The state-owned First Danube Steamship Company, the largest shipping company in Austria, provides both freight and passenger service on the river. Many international carriers serve Austrian airports, with most traffic to Schwechat, near Vienna. Austrian Airlines, the national airline, serves many European and domestic routes.

J

Communications

Radio, television, telephone, and telegraph systems were all state monopolies until the broadcasting system was converted into a joint-stock company in December 1957. The Austrian Broadcasting Company (Österreichischer Rundfunk) provides three radio and two television services. In 1997, 6 million registered radios and 4 million television receivers were in use.

Telephone and telegraph communications are directed by the Austrian postal service. More than 3.8 million telephones are in service (1995). Over 150 daily and weekly newspapers and other periodicals are published. Daily newspaper circulation averages more than 2 million. Influential dailies include Die Presse, Der Standard (circulation 118,000), Wiener Zeitung (21,000), and Wirtschafts Blatt (47,000) published in Vienna, and the Salzburger Nachrichten, published in Salzburg.

V

Government

Austria is a democratic, federal republic governed according to the constitution of 1920, as amended in 1929 and subsequently modified. This constitution, abrogated in 1934 by the right-wing Chancellor Englebert Dollfuss and suspended after annexation by Germany in 1938, was restored in 1945. Like the constitutions of many other Western democracies, the constitution of Austria provides for a distinct division of power between the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branches of government. Laws having their origin in 1862 and 1867 guarantee basic human rights and liberties; the rights of minorities are also guaranteed by the constitution.

A

Executive and Legislature

Executive power is exercised by the president of the republic, who is elected by popular vote every six years, and by the Council of Ministers, which is headed by a chancellor, appointed by the president for a term not exceeding four years. Suffrage is universal for people over age 18.

Federal legislative power is vested principally in the National Council (Nationalrat), or lower house, composed of 183 members elected for four-year terms by popular vote according to proportional representation. The Cabinet may remain in office only so long as it enjoys the confidence of the National Council. The Federal Council (Bundesrat), the upper house, consists of 64 members chosen by the provincial legislatures in proportion to population for terms ranging from four to six years. Although the powers of the Federal Council are primarily advisory, the council can delay passage of bills.

B

Political Parties

Following parliamentary elections held in 2006, the National Council consisted of 66 members of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP; Österreichische Volkspartei), 68 members of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ; Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs), 21 members of the Freedom Party (FPÖ; Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs), 21 members of the Green Party (Die Grünen), and 7 members of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich), the new party of Jörg Haider.