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{{short description|Political history of Austria}}
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'''''Proporz''''' ({{IPA|de|pʁoˈpɔʁts|lang}}, from {{langx|de|Proportionalität}}, "proportionality") is a long-standing practice in the [[Second Austrian Republic]] in which positions in government are distributed between [[List of political parties in Austria|political parties]] in a manner proportional to their electoral or public support.<ref name="Std">{{cite web|url=https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000024679132/proporz-und-opposition|title=Austria's state constitutions: Proporz and opposition|date=28 October 2015|publisher=[[Der Standard]]}}</ref> More broadly, it describes a culture of [[power sharing]] and [[Consensus decision-making|consensus]] between Austria's two major parties, the [[Austrian People's Party]] (ÖVP) and the [[Social Democratic Party of Austria]] (SPÖ), which developed throughout the period of [[Grand coalition#Austria|grand coalition]] government from 1945 to 1966. During this time, partisan divisions were established in most government institutions, the [[nationalized industry]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Heidegger |first=Gerald |date=2025-05-05 |title=Österreich, Amerika und die Verstaatlichung |url=https://topos.orf.at/neuausrichtung-oesterreich100 |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=topos.[[orf.at]] |language=DE-AT}}</ref> and the [[public service]], designed to balance the influence of both parties.<ref name="Study">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060917113623/http://cla.calpoly.edu/~mriedlsp/Publications/referat.html|url=http://cla.calpoly.edu/~mriedlsp/Publications/referat.html|date=5 May 1995|archive-date=17 September 2006|access-date=1 October 2020|last=Riedlsperger|first=Max|title=Die Freiheitlichen: a comparative study of the Austrian and U.S. Political Landscapes}}</ref><ref name="DZ">{{cite web|url=http://www.demokratiezentrum.org/en/knowledge/stations-a-z/proporz.html|title=Proporz|date=February 2006|website=Demokratiezentrum.org}}</ref>

Much of the [[Österreichische Beteiligungs AG|system]] has been dismantled over time, particularly since the 1990s. While in 1999 all but one of the nine [[States of Austria|federal states]] operated ''Proporz'' systems, five have since formally abolished them. Some aspects, such as its application on a municipal level, endure to this day.<ref name="Std"/>

==Origins==
After the re-establishment of Austrian independence in 1945 the country, however, remained under allied occupation until complete [[Austrian State Treaty|sovereignty]] was gained in 1955. The first, [[Provisional government|provisional]], government under chancellor [[Karl Renner]] managed to steer clear of a division of the country.<ref name=":0" />

There was a great desire to avoid the [[ideological]] [[Political faction|factionalism]] that had characterised the [[First Austrian Republic]] (1919–1934),<ref name="DZ" /> when the divide between the [[Social Democratic Party of Austria|socialists]] on the left and [[Christian Social Party (Austria)|Catholic conservatives]] on the right ultimately had led to the [[Austrian Civil War]] and ensuing [[Federal State of Austria|Austrofascist dictatorship]], which had ended in Austria's [[Anschluss|annexation]] by [[Nazi Germany]] in 1938.

This was exacerbated by the need for reconstruction in the wake of the [[Second World War]], as well as Austria's precarious position between the [[Western Allies]] and the [[Soviet Union]]. These combined factors compelled the Austrian authorities to seek consensus and democratic stability in the new republic.<ref name="DZ" /> All-party or "concentration" government was practised in both [[Allied-occupied Germany]] and [[Allied-occupied Austria|Austria]] after the war – the provisional government of Karl Renner comprised a coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ, and the [[Communist Party of Austria]] (KPÖ) – but the development of ''Proporz'' truly began after the [[1945 Austrian legislative election|first national election]]. The ÖVP under [[Leopold Figl]] had won an absolute majority of seats (85 out of a total of 165), but nonetheless invited the SPÖ to join the cabinet: the new chancellor retained the three-party [[grand coalition]] alongside the Socialists and Communists.

==Development==
===Federal level===
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, [[Secretary of state|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 [[Federal Ministry of Labour, Family and Youth|Ministry of Labour]] for the SPÖ and the [[Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism|Ministry of Agriculture]] for the ÖVP.<ref name="Std"/> 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''.<ref name="Study"/><ref name="DZ"/>

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 Austrian legislative election|1949 election]], the government sought to limit its influence by applying ''Proporz'' at all levels of administration. This included the Austrian "[[Corporatism#Neo-corporatism|social partnership]]", in which workers, farmers, and employers are represented in government by four elected bodies. The SPÖ headed the [[Chamber for Workers and Employees|Chamber of Labour]] and [[Austrian Trade Union Federation]], while the ÖVP headed the [[Austrian Economic Chamber]] and Chamber of Agriculture.

From 1958 onwards, the [[ORF (broadcaster)|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 [[Alfons Gorbach|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.<ref name="DZ"/> 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 (Austria)|National Council]] because the governing parties, which headed the committees, feared losing influence.<ref>Hugo Portisch: ''The referendum on the reform of broadcasting 1964'', in: Haimo Godler (ed.): ''From steam radio to sound wallpaper: Contributions to 80 years of radio in Austria'', Böhlau Verlag Vienna, 2004, {{ISBN|978-3-205-77239-2}}, pp. 65ff.</ref> 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 1980s, the ÖVP was frequently consulted regarding government decisions and legislation; as such, the opposition was never truly shut out of decision-making.

===State level===
''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.<ref name="DZ"/> 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 [[Landeshauptmann|Governor]], typically required the approval of the state legislature.<ref name="Std"/>

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 – The Green Alternative|The Greens]] from the 1980s onwards saw the major parties increasingly forced to share their power.<ref name="DZ"/> This form of ''Proporz'' has since been repealed in most states; first in [[Salzburg (state)|Salzburg]] and [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]] in 1999, then [[Styria]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://steiermark.orf.at/stories/523948/|title=Styria abolishes Proporz|date=30 June 2011|publisher=[[ORF (broadcaster)|ORF]]}}</ref> and [[Burgenland]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://burgenland.orf.at/news/stories/2683812/|title=Proporz has been abolished|date=11 December 2014|publisher=[[ORF (broadcaster)|ORF]]}}</ref> in 2015, and [[Carinthia]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kaernten.orf.at/news/stories/2846624/|title=New state constitution adopted|date=1 June 2017|publisher=[[ORF (broadcaster)|ORF]]}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Std"/>

===Municipal level===
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.<ref name="Std"/>

==Criticism==
Critics of ''Proporz'' characterised it as a form of [[political patronage]] and [[nepotism]] in which officials were appointed or received benefits on the basis of their party membership.<ref name="DZ"/> They claimed the long-standing grand coalition fostered complacency and lack of direction in government.<ref>Ernst Hanisch: ''Austrian History 1890-1990'' Vienna, 1994</ref> In ''Conflict and Freedom: Towards a Service Class Society'' (1972), [[Ralf Dahrendorf]] criticised the ''Proporz'' system: "The conversion of solidarity into individual action entails a withdrawal of energy from the battlefield and marketplace of politics."<ref>[[Ralf Dahrendorf]]: ''Conflict and Freedom: Towards a Service Class Society'' Piper Verlag, Munich, 1972, {{ISBN|3-492-01782-7}}</ref> Sociologist and jurist Gustav Edward Kafka said in 1958 that ''Proporz'' had become so entrenched that "one could say with good reason that most of the provisions of formal constitutional law, including republican form of government, could be changed without profound consequences, as long as this principle [Proporz] remains in force; yet the return to free political competition would be tantamount to a revolution, though it would not require changing a comma in the constitution."<ref>Gustav E. Kafka, [[Graz]]: '' The constitutional position of the parties in the modern state - 2nd report'', in: Association of German Criminal Law Teachers: ''Publications Constitutional Law Teachers 17 2ae - Conference on October 8, 1958 at the university Vienna'', p. 89</ref>

==Legacy==
During Austria's first annual [[word of the year]] selection in 1999, the jury was tasked with choosing a "word of the century". They were unable to come to a decision, and instead chose ''Proporz'' as "word of the half-century". They stated "it has shaped Austrian politics and social life like no other term since 1945", and represents "the exact opposite dynamic than existed previously in political life".<ref>{{cite web|title=Jhdwort|url=http://www-oedt.kfunigraz.ac.at/oewort/1999/jhdwort.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402163301/http://www-oedt.kfunigraz.ac.at/oewort/1999/jhdwort.htm|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Politics of Austria]]
* [[History of Austria]]
* [[Pillarisation]]
* [[National Front (Colombia)]]
* [[Magic formula (Swiss politics)]]
* [[Clientelism]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Political history of Austria]]
[[Category:Second Austrian Republic]]
[[Category:German words and phrases]]
[[Category:Political terminology in Austria]]