Proporz (, from , "proportionality") is a long-standing practice in the Second Austrian Republic in which positions in government are distributed between political parties in a manner proportional to their electoral or public support. More broadly, it describes a culture of power sharing and 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 government from 1945 to 1966. During this time, partisan divisions were established in most government institutions, the nationalized industry, and the public service, designed to balance the influence of both parties.
Much of the system has been dismantled over time, particularly since the 1990s. While in 1999 all but one of the nine 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. 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. and Burgenland in 2015, and Carinthia in 2017. 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. 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." 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."
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".
See also
- Politics of Austria
- History of Austria
- Pillarisation
- National Front (Colombia)
- Magic formula (Swiss politics)
- Clientelism