There is relatively little party diversity in the Austrian National Council compared to the parliaments of other EU countries. Although there are five parliamentary groups in this country (ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ, Greens, NEOS) in the Senate, on average there are considerably more in the EU.
This is evident from a short study by the Institute for Parliamentarism and Democracy Issues, which compared the national parliaments of the 27 EU member states. On average, eight parties are represented in the EU’s national parliaments.
Only Malta has fewer parties than in the Austrian parliament, with two. Like Austria, Croatia and Slovakia have five factions; there are six in Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. At the other end of the scale are Denmark and the Netherlands (16 groups each), Belgium and Hungary (11) and France, Ireland and Poland (10).
Absolute majorities are rare
It is extremely rare in EU member states for a party to obtain more than 50 percent of the seats. This is currently only the case in Hungary, Malta, Greece and Portugal.
There are 6,321 members in all national parliaments of the EU countries; per state there are between 736 in the German Bundestag and 56 in the Cypriot parliament. With 183 representatives, the Austrian National Council ranks 14th in the EU-27 and well below the EU average of 234.
At the same time, in Austria there are relatively many mandates based on the number of inhabitants: if there is one mandate for every 49,180 inhabitants in this country (rank 10), one mandate in the EU represents on average at least 70,669 inhabitants. Residents.
The bicameral system dominates
At the top of the scale is Italy with 147,500 inhabitants per mandate, although there is a strong second chamber in the form of the Senate. The research also shows similarly high values for Spain, France, the Netherlands and Germany. However, these are particularly low in the small states of Malta (6,329), Luxembourg (10,000) and Estonia (12,871).
The bicameral system, which Austria also has with its National Council and Federal Council, is widespread in the EU countries. Although 15 of the 27 EU states have only one chamber, according to the study, almost 83 percent of the EU population lives in states with a bicameral parliament.
In the four states of the EU – in addition to Austria, these are Belgium, Germany and Spain – there is a state chamber in addition to the first chamber. All major countries such as France, Italy and Poland also have two rooms.
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.
