From the abolition of the GIS fees, a cash upper limit, to the chain law: from 17 to 24 April this year there will be referenda of the joint decisions initiative (IGE), which will deal with essential and current socially relevant topics. While some question the usefulness and effectiveness of such referenda, IGE co-initiator Werner Bolek emphasizes their importance: “People’s petitions may be slow to work, but they do work.”
Although many referenda have been held in recent years, the last referendum was more than 40 years ago. The system flaw, according to Bolek, is that a referendum cannot be initiated by the people. Referenda must be dealt with in the National Council, but referendums are legally binding. This means that a law can only come into effect if the people have given their consent.
Bolek demands that referenda, from a certain number of signatures, must lead to a mandatory referendum. This proposal was already included in the government program under turquoise blue in 2019, but was never implemented. How’s that? “The government is afraid of the people. Because things can come out differently than the government wants.”
Direct democracy thrives strongly on the instrument of referenda. “It is actually the most important and only national instrument of direct democracy. The Swiss example shows that a well-developed democracy tolerates popular participation very well.”
Election program quickly outdated
At the end of 2022, satisfaction with the political system in Austria in SORA’s annual “Democracy Monitor” fell to the lowest level since the survey began in 2018. Bolek himself understands the people’s concerns: “Right now our time is moving so extremely fast that a government elected for five years cannot yet know how it will decide in three years’ time on an entirely new subject.” Bolek said it was necessary to ask the people, especially when it came to issues that were not part of a government’s election manifesto.
You can see the entire conversation with IGE co-initiator Werner Bolek in the video above. More information is available at www.gemeinsam.eu.
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Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
