From 27 February until 2 March 2010, 418,000 members of the Federal Austrian Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKO [1]) were eligible to elect their political representatives in the Chamber’s bodies. Elections take place every five years and about 11,000 functionaries were elected this year.[1] http://www.wko.at/
In February and March 2010, elections were held for the Federal Austrian Economic Chamber, the country’s main employer organisation. The results brought no substantial change in the composition of the representatives. The faction affiliated to the conservative Austrian People’s Party won the elections with 70.9% of the votes. Voter turnout was historically low, at 41%. The intricate electoral system was identified as a major reason for the low turnout.
From 27 February until 2 March 2010, 418,000 members of the Federal Austrian Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKO) were eligible to elect their political representatives in the Chamber’s bodies. Elections take place every five years and about 11,000 functionaries were elected this year.
WKO’s constituency and structure
Membership of Austria’s principal employer organisation is obligatory for companies and linked to the possession of a business licence. The election principle differs from other countries in that voting rights are not weighted according to the size of the company: rather, the principle ‘one company, one vote’ is applied. Moreover, in cases where the subject of an acquired licence is narrower than the nature of the business activity carried out by an enterprise, the enterprise obtains more than one licence and accordingly more than one vote. Therefore, the 418,000 entrepreneurs eligible to vote in this year’s election held 560,000 voting rights, constituting one vote for each licence held.
The WKO, which combines the functions of both an employer organisation and a trade association, is organised on the basis of a two-dimensional system. One dimension mirrors Austria’s geographical subdivision into nine separate regions (Länder), with a Land-level chamber for each of them. The Federal Chamber is the peak organisation of all nine regional chambers. The second dimension focuses on the sectoral and subsectoral division. Within the WKO, there are seven federal sectoral sections (Bundessparten) for the following branches of economic activity: small-scale craft production; manufacturing; commerce; finance, banking and insurance; transport; tourism; and information and consulting. Each of these sections is divided into federal sectoral subunits (Fachverbände) according to subsectors of activity. In the Land-level chambers, there is an equivalent differentiation of seven sectoral sections (Landessparten), which are divided into sectoral subunits (Fachgruppen).
Results of 2010 election
The results of the 2010 election brought only small changes compared with the last round of elections in 2005. The Austrian Business Alliance (Österreichischer Wirtschaftsbund, ÖWB), affiliated to the conservative Austrian People’s Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, ÖVP), won the election with 70.9% of the votes, improving its then-record result of 2005 by 0.8 of a percentage point. Moreover, the ÖWB managed to hold its absolute majorities in all nine Länder. Only in Vienna was the absolute majority narrow, at 50.3% compared with 50.5% in 2005. The Social Democratic Business Association (Sozialdemokratischer Wirtschaftsverband, SWV), affiliated to the Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreich, SPÖ), ranked second, holding 11.5% of the vote – this constituted a fall of 1.5 percentage points compared with the 2005 election. Ranking third was the Association of Freedomite Entrepreneurs (Ring Freiheitlicher Wirtschaftstreibender, RFW), affiliated to the right-wing populist Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreich, FPÖ), which lost 1.4 percentage points and now holds 8.6% after having reached 19.6% in the 2000 election. Ranking fourth was the affiliate of the Green Party (Die Grünen), the Green Economy (Grüne Wirtschaft), which won 1.3 percentage points and now holds 5.8% of the votes.
In the forthcoming weeks, the election of the presidents and boards of all WKO federal and provincial sectoral and subsectoral organisations will be held. On 24 June 2010, the president of the WKO will be elected by the general assembly (Wirtschaftsparlament), the highest body of the WKO, marking an end to the 2010 election procedures. It is almost certain that the ÖWB President, Christoph Leitl, will be elected for a third term.
Reaction to outcome
The poor voter turnout of only 41%, compared with 48% in 2005, signifies a new low point in the WKO’s history of elections. Overall, the turnout rate has declined by more than 20% during the last 20 years. Although the WKO President and ÖWB Chair, Mr Leitl, appeared to be content with his faction’s results, he has acknowledged a need for action in the face of the lowest turnout ever. Nevertheless, he has denied that this ongoing trend in terms of participation would show the members’ increasing dissatisfaction with the work of the WKO. However, commentators and the Green Economy have identified – despite a thorough restructuring of the chamber and major changes to the voting rights of member companies during the 2000s (AT0512202N) – the still intricate and intransparent electoral system of the WKO as a major reason for the low turnout.
Apart from this, commentators were surprised by the good performance of the ÖWB as opposed to the relatively poor performance of the RFW. The explanation given is that, in times of economic crisis, voters reportedly tend to cast their vote for a strong faction.
Bernadette Allinger, Working Life Research Centre (FORBA)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2010), Economic Chamber elections held, article.
