"The Situation is Serious": Democracy Index with Sobering Result for Austria

The state of democracy in Austria has significantly deteriorated in the areas of fundamental rights, civil society, and media according to the Democracy Index. The index describes the state and development of democratic indicators in Austria annually and was presented at a press conference in Vienna on Wednesday. Seven institutions of democracy are evaluated: Sovereign, Parties, Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, Media, and Civil Society.

Austria's Democracy on the Decline

The index was developed for the fourth time by nine democratic political organizations that have joined together in the association "Democracy Index." A total of 115 individual requirements are included in the evaluation. The overall value has steadily decreased since the first index in 2022, from a value of 57.1 percent to the current 55.1 percent.

In the past two years, positive and negative developments have roughly balanced each other out, explained association chairman Matthias Zojer: "However, there is a clear trend, and it is downward." The new Freedom of Information Act has had a positive impact, but its concrete effects are yet to be seen.

Increased Surveillance as a Factor

Thomas Lohninger from the association epicenter.works, which advocates for digital rights, saw a massive deterioration in the area of digital fundamental rights. He pointed to increased surveillance, such as the approved federal Trojan and the planned comprehensive city center surveillance by the police. Additionally, the data protection authority is severely restricted in its work due to budget cuts and can no longer perform central tasks such as official examinations or legal opinions.

Peršmanhof Case Did Not Remain Without Consequences

In the area of human and fundamental rights, there are also "alarming developments," said Marianne Schulze from the Austrian Democracy Foundation. She pointed to the halt of family reunification, the draft law on the headscarf ban, and increasing freedom-restricting measures in care and nursing homes. The human rights expert also sees trust in democratic institutions at risk and criticized the executive for different standards in police operations. For instance, on July 26, an opinion leader of a democracy-critical group in Vienna was "respectfully greeted" by officers, while the operational basis at a memorial site of a recognized minority at Peršmanhof remained unclear for a long time the following day.

Furthermore, civil society organizations such as NGOs came under political pressure last year, Schulze continued. The FPÖ attempted to defame them across the board and accuse them of wasting taxpayers' money. Measures to promote democracy have less weight in the current government program than in the previous one.

"The Situation is Serious, But Far From Hopeless"

"The situation is serious, but far from hopeless. It is crucial that all democratic forces become aware of the dangers to democracy and act together and decisively against them," emphasized Zojer. The Democracy Index therefore recommends, among other things, a departure from mass surveillance, the comprehensive implementation of the active publication obligation of executive documents, the strengthening of citizen initiatives, and the targeted promotion of quality journalism.

Nine organizations were involved in the development of the index, including the Anti-Corruption Referendum, Demokratiestiftung.at, epicenter.works, Forum Informationsfreiheit, IG Demokratie, Meine Abgeordneten, Presseclub Concordia, SOS Mitmensch, and Wahlbeobachtung.org.

(APA/Red)

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