The Greens – The Green Alternative
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2008-07-16T17:27:47Z
Lomis
1833046
corrected political position
{{Infobox_Austrian_Political_Party |
party_name = Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative |
party_logo = [[Image:Logo Die Gruenen.svg|170px|Greens logo]] |
party_articletitle = {{PAGENAME}}|
leader = Dr. [[Alexander Van der Bellen]] |
foundation = [[1993]] (''Die Grünen'')<br>[[1986]] (Merger of ''Vereinte Grüne Österreichs'' and ''Alternative Liste Österreich'') |
ideology = [[Green politics]], [[Socialism]], [[Social liberalism]] |
position = [[Centre-Left]] |
international = [[Global Greens]] |
european = [[European Green Party]] |
europarl = [[European Greens - European Free Alliance]] |
colours = [[Green]]|
headquarters = Lindengasse 40<br>A-1071 [[Vienna]] |
website = [http://www.gruene.at www.gruene.at]
}}
'''The Greens – The Green Alternative''' ({{lang-de|Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative}} or ''Die Grünen'', also translated as '''Austrian Green Party''') is a [[political party]] in the [[Parliament of Austria|Austrian parliament]].
The party was formed in [[1986]] with the name ''Grüne Alternative'', following the merger of the more conservative Green party ''Vereinte Grüne Österreichs'' (United Greens of Austria [[VGÖ]], founded [[1982]]) and the more progressive party ''Alternative Liste Österreichs'' (Alternative List Austria [[ALÖ]], founded [[1982]]). Since [[1993]], the party has carried the official name ''Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne)'', but refers to itself in English as "Austrian Greens". There are still differences between the former members of the old Alternative and VGÖ factions within the party, which is reflected in the different opinions between the national party and the state parties.
Apart from [[ecology|ecological]] issues such as [[environmental protection]], the Greens also campaign for the rights of [[minority|minorities]] and advocate a socio-ecological (''ökosozial'') [[tax reform]]. Their basic values according to their charter in [[2001]] are: "direct democracy, non-violence, ecology, solidarity, feminism and self-determination" [http://www.gruene.at/uploads/media/grundsatzprogramm2001.pdf]. The majority of the issues that the Greens champion cater to an especially young, urban, and higher-educated class of voters.
The party is a member of the [[European Green Party]].
== History ==
While the Austrian [[Green movement]] began in [[1978]] with the successful campaign to prevent the opening of the [[nuclear power]] plant in [[Zwentendorf]] (which had been favoured by [[Bruno Kreisky]]'s government), the Green Party was born in [[1984]] during the successful sit-in protests which prevented the [[Danube]] power plant at [[Hainburg an der Donau|Hainburg]] from being built.
=== Federal level ===
In the [[Austria legislative election, 1986|1986 Austrian parliamentary elections]] the Green Party started off with 4.82% of all votes cast and entered parliament with eight [[National Council of Austria|National Council]] mandates. In the early elections to National Council in [[Austria legislative election, 2002|2002]], the Green Party nationwide received 9.47% of votes, and won 17 mandates to the National Council. At that time, it was the highest number of votes garnered by any European Green party.
When the Greens took their seats in parliament for the first time, they chose to appear somewhat unconventional. They initially refused to adapt their behaviour to that of the other parties; an example of this is their refusal to elect a chairperson (''[[Klubobmann]] / [[Klubobfrau]]'') and designated a puppet made out of straw instead. Delegates would appear in parliament dressed in casual wear like jeans and sneakers. World-wide attention was drawn when the Green delegate [[Andreas Wabl]] hoisted a [[swastika]] flag on the speakers podium in the Austrian parliament, protesting against then [[President of Austria|Federal President]] [[Kurt Waldheim]].
After the national election in [[Austria legislative election, 2002|2002]], the Greens entered into preliminary negotiations about a possible coalition government with the conservative ÖVP. During negotiations, party leadership was accused of internally black-mailing skeptical members. Negotiations between the two parites were subsequently called off, after the results with the ÖVP were not sufficient. The Green youth organisation ''[[Grünalternative Jugend]]'' (Green Alternative Youth or GAJ) briefly occupied the rooms of the Green parliamentary club in the Austrian parliament building in protest.
In [[2003]] three Green federal counsellors formed their own club in the Upper House [[Federal Council of Austria|Federal Council]] (''Bundesrat'') of Parliament.
After the 2006 elections the Greens gained 4 seats and ended up with 21 seats and became the 3rd largest party in Parliament however did not have enough mandates to form a coalition government with either the ÖVP or SPÖ and became the largest opposition party while the SPÖ and ÖVP formed a coalition government.
=== Chairpersons since 1986 ===
The chart below shows a timeline of the Green chairpersons and the [[Chancellor of Austria|Chancellors of Austria]]. The left green bar shows all the chairpersons (''Bundessprecher'', abbreviated as "CP") of the Green party, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red ([[SPÖ]]) and black ([[ÖVP]]) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (''Bundesregierung'', abbreviated as "Govern."). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, the Roman numeral stands for the [[cabinet]]s.
[[Image:Alexander Van der Bellen1.jpg|130px|thumb|right|[[Alexander Van der Bellen]], chairman since 1997]]
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:450 height:500
PlotArea = width:400 height:440 left:50 bottom:50
Legend = columns:3 left:50 top:25 columnwidth:65
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:1986 till:2007
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1986
# there is no automatic collision detection,
# so shift texts up or down manually to avoid overlap
Colors=
id:Grüne value:green legend:Grüne
id:SPÖ value:red legend:SPÖ
id:ÖVP value:gray(0.25) legend:ÖVP
Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar
Define $dy = -4 # adjust height
PlotData=
width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S shift:($dx,$dy)
bar:CP
color:Grüne
from:1986 till:1988 text:[[Freda Meissner-Blau]]
from:1988 till:1992 text:[[Johannes Voggenhuber]]
from:1992 till:1994 text:[[Peter Pilz]]
from:1994 till:1995 text:[[Madeleine Petrovic]]
from:1995 till:1997 text:[[Christoph Chorherr]]
from:1997 till:end text:[[Alexander Van der Bellen]]
bar:Govern.
color:SPÖ
from:1986 till:1987 text:[[Franz Vranitzky|Vranitzky]] I
from:1987 till:1990 text:Vranitzky II
from:1990 till:1994 text:Vranitzky III
from:1994 till:1996 text:Vranitzky IV
from:1996 till:1997 text:Vranitzky V
from:1997 till:2000 text:[[Viktor Klima|Klima]]
from:2007 till:end text:[[Alfred Gusenbauer|Gusenbauer]] I
color:ÖVP
from:2000 till:2003 text:[[Wolfgang Schüssel|Schüssel]] I
from:2003 till:2007 text:Schüssel II
</timeline>
=== Parliamentary election results ===
{|class="wikitable" align="center"
|----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
! colspan="4"| Results of the Grüne in [[National Council of Austria|National Council]] elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
! align="center" | Mandates out of total of 183 seats
! align="center" | Further information
|-
| align="center" | [[Austrian legislative election, 2006|2006]]
| align="center" | 11.0% (+1.5)
| align="center" | 21 (+4)
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 2002|2002]]
| align="center" | 9.5% (+2.1)
| align="center" | 17 (+3)
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 1999|1999]]
| align="center" | 7.4% (+2.6)
| align="center" | 14 (+5)
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 1995|1995]]
| align="center" | 4.8% (-2.5)
| align="center" | 9 (-4)
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 1994|1994]]
| align="center" | 7.3% (+2.5)
| align="center" | 13 (+3)
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 1990|1990]]
| align="center" | 4.8% (0)
| align="center" | 10 (+2)
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 1986|1986]]
| align="center" | 4.8% (+1.4)
| align="center" | 8 (+8)
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 1983|1983]]
| align="center" | 3.4% (+3.4)
| align="center" | 0 (0)
| align="center" |
|}
=== State level ===
The Green party also entered the parliaments or assemblies (''[[Landtag]]'') of [[states of Austria|Austrian states]] and communal governments. Following is an analysis of the party on the [[States of Austria|state]] (''Länder'') level:
==== [[Burgenland]] ====
The [http://burgenland.gruene.at/ Burgenland Greens] were able to take their seats in the ''Landtag'' (state assembly) for the first time in [[2000]]. The party received 5.49% of the tally, which meant two mandates. In the state elections in [[2005]] these two seats were reaffirmed with 5.21% received of all votes cast.
==== [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]] ====
In the southernmost state of Carinthia, different Green parties ran state elections: the ''[[KEL/AL]]'' in [[1984]], ''[[Anderes Kärnten]]'' in [[1989]] and [[1994]], and ''[[Demokratie 99]]'' in [[1999]]. These parties were however never able to enter the ''Landtag'' (state assembly) since the Carinthian voting system requires a party to win a direct mandate in one of the four regional election districts, which means effectively a 10%-[[Election threshold|threshold]] in order to enter. <br>
Only in [[2004]] were the [http://www.kaernten.gruene.at/ Carinthian Greens] finally able to take their seats in the state assembly, where they are represented by the [[cabaret]] player [[Rolf Holub]] and [[Barbara Lesjak]]. On a regional level, for example in the state capital [[Klagenfurt]], the Carinthian Greens have already played a political role for a longer time. In the Klagenfurt [[city council]] the Greens are represented by [[Andrea Wulz]], [http://www.koechl.net/ Matthias Koechl], [[Angelika Hoedl]] and [[Reinhold Gasper]]. Since the local election in [[2003]] the [http://www.klagenfurt.gruene.at/ Klagenfurt Greens] were able to take one of nine seats in the proportional city-government, Andrea Wulz is the town councillor for issues relating to women, family matters and social [[housing project]]s.
==== [[Lower Austria]] ====
In [[1998]] the [http://niederoesterreich.gruene.at/ Lower Austrian Greens] were represented with two delegates in the state assembly. In the state elections in [[2003]] the Greens received 7.22% and thus won four mandates, which meant they had official club status in the assembly. With [[Madeleine Petrovic]] the Lower Austrian Greens have a former federal spokeswoman and one of the most outspoken animal activists of Austria as their leader (''[[Klubobfrau]]''). In [[2005]] the Lower Austrian Greens managed to win and take their seats in 100 municipal assemblies and as of 2005 had four vice-mayors.
Theyr Managing director in Lower Austria is [http://niederoesterreich.gruene.at/team/landesvorstand/ Mr. Thomas Huber]
==== [[Salzburg (state)|Salzburg]] ====
After the state elections in [[1989]] the [http://salzburg.gruene.at/ Salzburg Greens] had two mandates in the Salzburg state assembly, in [[1994]] three and in [[1999]] again two. Under the leadership of [[Cyriak Schwaighofer]] the Greens performed under their expectations in the [[2004]] state elections and could not achieve the desired club status of at least three mandates. As voter-current analyses showed, the small increases in votes were largely due to former voters of the [[Liberal Forum]] (LiF), which did not run in the Salzburg elections.
The [http://www.buergerliste.at/ Bürgerliste] (Citizen List) is the common platform of the Greens of the city of [[Salzburg]]. Like many other autonomous municipal groups it carries its own name.
==== [[Styria]] ====
In 2005, the [http://www.stmk.gruene.at/ Styrian Greens] had three delegates sitting in the state assembly, Chairlady (''Klubobfrau'') [http://www.stmk.gruene.at/team_sonnek.php Ingrid Lechner Sonnek], [http://www.stmk.gruene.at/team_zitz.php Edith Zitz] and [http://www.stmk.gruene.at/team_hagenauer.php Peter Hagenauer]. There are two independent Greens parties: on the one hand the state party, on the other hand there is the [http://www.graz.gruene.at/ ''Die Grünen - Alternative Liste Graz''] party for the state capital [[Graz]]. In the Graz city-council the Greens are represented by [http://www.graz.gruene.at/sigi-binder/ Sigi Binder], [http://www.graz.gruene.at/team/ruecker.php Lisa Rücker], [http://www.graz.gruene.at/team/candussi.php Hermann Candussi] and [http://www.graz.gruene.at/team/jahn.php Christina Jahn].
Styria has the largest Austrian Green youth organization in Austria, called ''[http://www.gjstmk.gruene.at/ Grüne Jugend Steiermark]'' (Green Youth Styria). Beside the Green Youth Styria there also exists Austria’s first Green student’s organization, the ''ECO Students''.
==== [[Tyrol]] ====
In the Tyrol the Greens (official name: ''[http://tirol.gruene.at/ Die Grünen – die Grüne Alternative Tirol]'') were able to win seats and placed in [[1994]] [[Eva Lichtenberger]] as Austria’s first Green state [[councillor]] in a local government, responsible for environmental affairs.
The [[2003]] Tyrolean ''[[Landtag]]'' (state assembly) elections were the best ever for the Austrian Greens, winning 15.59% of all votes cast. In the capital city of [[Innsbruck]] the Greens reached approximately 27% of the vote. The Tyrolean election result also meant that the Greens could for the first time in history nominate a member to the Upper House of Parliament. Since 2003 the Green delegate to the [[Federal Council of Austria|Federal Council]] (''Bundesrat'') of Parliament is [[Eva Konrad]], former chairlady of the Austrian National Union of Students (''Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft'' [http://oeh.ac.at/oeh/dieoeh/English]) of the [[University of Innsbruck]].
The communal elections of 2004 brought a doubling of the mandates for the Tyrolean Greens. City elections in [[Innsbruck]] in [[2006]] were a success for the Greens and they now have 8 of the 40 seats in the parliament of [[Innsbruck]].
In the elections to the European parliament the Tyrolean Greens obtained 17.32%, their best result until then. Eva Lichtenberger subsequently changed her position to become a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (MEP). The results in Innsbruck were particularly good: there the Green party received 28.28%, which made it the strongest party, even before the Christian-democratic [[ÖVP]] and the social-democratic [[SPÖ]]. The Greens were able to score on a number of issues that they have been fighting for years. Besides the social topics above all the problems of transit traffic over the [[Alps]] was important.
The Tyrolean Greens have experts on traffic issues with MEP Eva Lichtenberger, the national speaker and club chairman (''Klubobmann'') [[Georg Willi]] and the speaker of group of regional of Innsbruck Gerhard Fritz. The issue of transit traffic through the Tyrol is of great importance, because the state is troubled by the massive transit traffic between Germany and Italy over the [[Brenner Pass]]. Since the Tyrol sits right in between Germany and Italy, the bulk of the commercial traffic passes through there. This heavy-duty traffic has devastating effects on the fragile alpine environment and decreases the quality of life for the inhabitants. Since the entry to the European Union, Austria had to give up any quota limitations on how much international traffic coming from EU-countries is allowed to pass through its territory.
The Tyrolean Greens accused to federal government of not having pushed for a better deal with the European Union concerning transit-traffic and in effect abandoning the concerns of the citizens. They also heavily criticised the government’s failure to negotiate a follow-up of the [[1994]] transit-treaty signed with the EU. Apart from the Greens, various anti-transit [[civic movement]]s have formed to protest against the environmental damages caused by the traffic.
Sitting in the National Council is [[Kurt Grünewald]], a Tyrolean member of parliament, as well as the leader of the Greens [[Alexander Van der Bellen]], who has Tyrolean roots (he spent a part of his youth there and went to high school in Innsbruck).
The results of the Tyrolean ''Landtag'' elections:
{|class="wikitable" align="center"
|----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
! colspan="3"| Results of the Greens in Tyrolean State Assembly elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
! align="center" | Mandates out of total of 36 seats
|-
| align="center" | [[2003]]
| align="center" | 15.59% (+7.57)
| align="center" | 5 (+2)
|-
| align="center" | [[1999]]
| align="center" | 8.02% (-2.66)
| align="center" | 3 (-1)
|-
| align="center" | [[1994]]
| align="center" | 10.68% (+2.42)
| align="center" | 4 (+1)
|-
| align="center" | [[1989]]
| align="center" | 8.26% (+5.34)
| align="center" | 3 (+3)
|-
| align="center" | [[1984]]
| align="center" | 2.92%
| align="center" | 0
|}
2003 delegates: [[Sepp Brugger]], Maria Scheiber, [[Uschi Schwarzl]], Elisabeth Wiesmüller und Georg Willi (club chairman);<br>
1999 delegates: [[Maria Scheiber]], [[Elisabeth Wiesmüller]], Georg Willi (club chairman); <br>
1994 delegates: [[Bernhard Ernst]], Franz Klug, [[Max Schneider]] und Georg Willi (club chairman [''Klubobmann'']); <br>
1989 delegates: Eva Lichtenberger, [[Jutta Seethaler]], [[Franz Klug]]).
==== [[Upper Austria]] ====
In [[1997]] the [http://ooe.gruene.at/ Upper Austrian Greens] successfully entered the Upper Austrian ''Landtag'' (state assembly) for the first time. After the state elections in 2003 (state elections in Upper Austria are held every six years, not five like in the other states), the Greens were able to win even further seats. The campaign was already aimed at gaining ministerial seats in the state government. Since the conservative Christian-democratic ÖVP was the strongest party, this would have meant for the Greens to enter into a coalition government with them (the so-called “''Schwarz-Grün''” [Black-Green] coalition, named after the party-colours). This new political constellation was quite controversial amongst party members on both sides. In the Green party, the leader [[Rudi Anschober]] was able to convince party members and after some dealing became state councillor for environmental affairs. The Greens of the state capital of [[Linz]] under the leadership of city councillor [[Jürgen Himmelbauer]] were most against this black-green project.
On the national level, the Upper Austrian Greens were able to nominate and send to the parliamentary Upper House [[Federal Council of Austria|Federal Council]] (''Bundesrat'') councillor [[Ruperta Lichtenecker]].
==== [[Vorarlberg]] ====
The [http://www.vorarlberg.gruene.at/ Vorarlberg Greens] were the first to ever win mandates in an Austrian state assembly election. Already in [[1984]] they were able to win 13% of the votes in the Vorarlberg state assembly elections, which for that time was an absolute sensation. The charismatic alpine farmer [[Kaspanaze Simma]] from [[Bregenzerwald]] was leading the leading candidate, it was mainly due to his efforts why the party was so instantly successful. Because of their strength, the Greens were allowed to form their own parliamentary fraction (''Klub''), which caused some logistical problems as the newly constructed ''Landtag'' building in 1981 only provided space for the traditional three parties (ÖVP, SPÖ, FPÖ), not four. Since the traditional [[organic farming]] sector is important in the western Austrian regions, the Greens were able to gain support. <br>
In the following years the Greens were able to consolidate their position by gaining seats on the communal and municipal level. Occasionally they lost their official club status in the state assembly, when they fared poorly from 1999 to 2004. In [[2006]] the speaker of the Vorarlberg Greens was [[Johannes Rauch]].
The results of the Vorarlberg ''Landtag'' elections:
{|class="wikitable" align="center"
|----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
! colspan="3"| Results of the Greens in the Vorarlberg State Assembly elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
! align="center" | Mandates out of total of 36 seats
|-
| align="center" | [[2004]]
| align="center" | 10,2% (+4.17)
| align="center" | 4 (+2)
|-
| align="center" | [[1999]]
| align="center" | 6,03% (-1.73)
| align="center" | 2 (-1)
|-
| align="center" | [[1994]]
| align="center" | 7,76% (+2.58)
| align="center" | 3 (+1)
|-
| align="center" | [[1989]]
| align="center" | 5,18% (-7.82)
| align="center" | 2 (-2)
|-
| align="center" | [[1984]]<sup>1</sup>
| align="center" | 13,00%
| align="center" | 4
|}
<sup>1</sup> Combined result of [[ALÖ]] and [[VGÖ]]
==== [[Vienna]] ====
The [http://wien.gruene.at/ Viennese Greens] started candidating in the Vienna ''Gemeinderat'' (municipal council or state assembly) in [[1983]] and were able to enter in [[1991]]. Over the years they have been able to continually gather support. A lot of support has been coming from former [[Liberal Forum]] voters, after the liberals failed to enter any legislature. The traditional strongholds in Vienna for the Greens are the districts of [[Neubau]] (2005: 43.26%), [[Josefstadt]] (32.26%), [[Alsergrund]] (29.43%), [[Mariahilf]] (28.97%) and [[Wieden]] (25.14%).
In the 2001 ''Gemeinderat'' elections, the Greens were able to win the majority of a district for the first time. In the district of [[Neubau]] they won 32.55% and were able to nominate the ''Bezirksvorsteher'' (mayor of the district). The results of 2001 also allowed the Viennese Greens to nominate [[Stefan Schennach]] as federal councilor to the Upper House of Parliament (''[[Federal Council of Austria|Bundesrat]]''). But despite the strong gains, the Greens were not able to enter into a coalition government with the [[SPÖ]], since the social-democrats were able to win an absolute majority.
The [[European Parliament election, 2004]] were the best for the Viennese Greens so far. From the total tally, they received 22%, which put them ahead of the christian-democratic [[ÖVP]] and placed them on second position behind the SPÖ (37.7%). In Neubau the Greens received 41%. They were also able to win first place in the districts of Wieden, Mariahilf, Josefstadt and Alsergrund.
In the 2005 ''Gemeinderat'' elections, the Greens were able to win votes, but missed their target of becoming the second most powerful party and ended up on fourth place, right behind the right-wing [[FPÖ]]. Because of the different weighing by districts, the Greens received 14 mandates, one more than the FPÖ. They were also able to place another city-councillor. In the districts, the party was able to consolidate their holding on Neubau, as well as win the majority of votes in Josefstadt. With that, the Greens were able to nominate a second Green district-mayor. The second place was won in the districts of [[Leopoldstadt]], [[Margareten]], Mariahilf, [[Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus]] and [[Alsergrund]].
The Green delegates to the Viennese ''Gemeinderat'' or ''Landtag'' as of 2006 were: [[Maria Vassilakou]] (club-chairlady [''Klubobfrau'']), [[Waltraut Antonov]], [[Heidi Cammerlander]], [[Christoph Chorherr]], [[Sabine Gretner]], [[Susanne Jerusalem]], [[Alev Korun]], [[Rüdiger Maresch]], [[Martin Margulies]], [[Sigrid Pilz]], [[Ingrid Puller]], [[Marie Ringler]], [[Marco Schreuder]], [[Claudia Sommer-Smolik]]. The two city-councillors are [[David Ellensohn]] and [[Monika Vana]].
The results of the Viennese ''Gemeinderat'' elections:
{|class="wikitable" align="center"
|----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
! colspan="4"| Results of the Greens in the Viennese State Assembly elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
! align="center" | Mandates out of total of 100 seats
! align="center" | Further information
|-
| align="center" | [[2005]]
| align="center" | 14,63% (+2.18)
| align="center" | 14 (+3)
| align="center" | 1 [[Federal Council of Austria|Federal Councillor]], 2 [[City Councillor]]s
|-
| align="center" | [[2001]]
| align="center" | 12,45% (+4.51)
| align="center" | 11 (+4)
| align="center" | 1 Federal Councillor, 1 City Councillor
|-
| align="center" | [[1996]]
| align="center" | 7,94% (-1.14)
| align="center" | 7 (±0)
| align="center" | 1 City Councillor
|-
| align="center" | [[1991]]
| align="center" | 9,08% (+4.68)
| align="center" | 7 (+7)
| align="center" | 1 City Councillor
|-
| align="center" | [[1987]]
| align="center" | 4,4% (+1.9)
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" |
|-
| align="center" | [[1983]]<sup>1</sup>
| align="center" | 2,5% (+2.5)
| align="center" | 0
| align="center" |
|}
<sup>1</sup> ran as [[Alternative Liste Wien]] (ALW)
== Organisation ==
In 2004 the Greens had about 3,000 members nation-wide, although at present there are no uniform regulations for membership. Apart from the members, the Greens rely on a large number of volunteers. The party used to function on the principles of [[basis democracy]] (''Basisdemokratie'') and [[rotation principle]] (''Rotationsprinzip''), but this was stopped in the course of the time. The last basic-democratic element is the ''[[Urabstimmung]]'', which is a vote on any issue that can be initiated with the petition of at least 100 members. As of [[2003]] however, no such vote has taken place.
The highest body is the ''Bundeskongress'' (Federal Congress), which convenes at least once a year. All state organisations send delegates, also the immigrants-organisation is allowed to send delegates as "the tenth [[States of Austria|Austrian state]]". The Federal Congress decides the electoral lists for the [[National Council of Austria|National Council]] elections or elections to the [[European parliament]]. The congress also elects the federal spokesperson (''BundesprecherIn''). The congress also decides the party program and sets the party guidelines.
The ''Bundesvorstand'' (Federal [[Board of Trustees]]) has in the last few years developed itself into the actual decision-making centre. It meets at least once a week, mostly on Tuesdays, and determines the guidelines of the daily politics. The board also has decides over the party finances.
The extended federal board of trustees (''Erweiterter Bundesvorstand'') consists of a smaller number of delegates from each state and meets at least once a month. It takes care of the implementation of the party-guidelines, which were set by the party congress. It also chooses the representatives of the party spokesperson.
The state organisations (''Landesorganisationen'') are for their most part organised similarly: There are state meetings, which sometimes convene as a members meeting or a delegates meeting. Similar to the Federal Board of Trustees, there are the State Board of Trustees (''Landesvorstände''). The party charter also allows for each state group to hold a vote on basic issues as well that affect the whole party.
Independently in the [[National Council of Austria|National Council]] there also exists a Green National Council Club (faction), which can independently specify its guidelines. In the last years however an increasing fusion of the work between party and its club was noticeable. [[Michaela Sburny]], successor of [[Franz Raft]] since June [[2004]] as federal executive manager of the Greens, was allowed to keep her National Council mandate. This means she is allowed to hold two offices at the same time, something that was frowned upon by the Greens previously.
There are different Green or Greenish organisations within the party and associated with it. These include:
* The ''[http://www.gruene-andersrum.at/ Grünen Andersrum]'' is the [[gay]]-, [[lesbian]] and [[transgender]] organisation, which is organised differently from state to state, and exists in all states except Vorarlberg and Burgenland. In Vienna, the ''[http://wien.gruene.at/andersrum/ Grünen Andersrum]'' are a part of the party itself.
* The ''[[Grünen SeniorInnen]]'' ([http://www.seniorinnen.gruene.at/ DGS]) is the organisation for [[senior citizen]]s. It was founded on [[March 9]], [[2001]] in Vienna. The DGS fights for a policy more friendly to senior citizens and their right to lead an active, fulfilling and self-determined life.
* The ''[[Initiative Grüne MigrantInnen]]'' ([http://www.igm.gruene.at/ IGM]) is the Green group for [[immigrant]]s in Austria. Their demands are a facilitation of [[Racial integration|integration]] into life in Austria, [[equal right]]s and [[equal opportunity|equal opportunities]], fight against [[racism]] and other issues concerning migrants.
* The ''[[Grüne und Alternative Studierende]]'' ([http://gras-wien.gruene.at/ GRAS]) is a separate party which candidates in the elections for the [[Austrian National Union of Students]] (''Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft'' – [http://oeh.ac.at ÖH]). There they are the biggest faction, together with the [[Socialist Students of Austria]] (''Verband Sozialistischer StudentInnen Österreichs'' – [http://www.vsstoe.at/ VSStÖ]) they form the executive committee of the Austrian National Union for Students.
* The ''[[Grünalternative Jugend]]'' ([http://www.gaj.at/ GAJ]) is the youth organisation of the Green party. The GAJ existed since the 1990’s. It is a member of the [[Federation of Young European Greens]] ([http://www.fyeg.org/ FYEG]). The GAJ sees itself rather as extreme left. The organisation is subdivided into smaller groups for each state.
* The ''[[Grüne Frauenorganisation]]'' is the organisation for women. As of 2005, it does not exist yet in every state. [http://frauen.wien.gruene.at/]
* ''ECO Students'' is a Green student’s organisation, which currently only exists in [[Styria]].
* The ''[http://www.gruenewirtschaft.at/ Grüne Wirtschaft]'' is the Green economic organisation and runs in the elections for the Economic Parliament of the [[Austrian Federal Economic Chamber]] (''Wirtschaftskammer Österreich'' – [http://portal.wko.at/ WKÖ]).
* The ''[[Alternative und Unabhängige GewerkschafterInnen]]'' ([http://www.auge.or.at/ AUGE/UG]) is the Green [[labour union]]. It runs in the elections for the labour parliament of the [[Austrian Labour Chamber]] (''Arbeiterkammer'' – [http://www.arbeiterkammer.at/ AK]).
The education and training of new Green politicians is done by the ''[[Grüne Bildungswerkstatt]]'' (http://www.gbw.at/), which is an independent [[voluntary association]]. The ''Grüne Bildungswerkstatt'' is financed by the republic, as regulated by Austrian law for the equal treatment of all parliamentary parties.
== Prominent members ==
{{Greens}}
Among the most notable founding members and mentors are or were Professor [[Alexander Tollmann]], the painter [[Friedensreich Hundertwasser]], the late actor [[Herbert Fux]], the mayor of [[Steyregg]] [[Josef Buchner]] (the first Green mayor in Austria – in [[1987]] excluded from the Green parliamentary club), [[Freda Meissner-Blau]] and [[Günther Nenning]], with [[Nobel prize]] laureate [[Konrad Lorenz]] supporting the 1984 protests at Hainburg.
Today, Green politicians include (in alphabetical order)
* [[Rudolf Anschober]] (State councillor of Upper Austria)
* [[Thomas Blimlinger]] (Mayor of the Viennese district Neubau)
* [[Dieter Brosz]] ([[Member of Parliament|MP]] (Member of the lower house National Council), spokesman for education)
* [[Christoph Chorherr]] (Member of the state assembly of Vienna)
* [[Eva Glawischnig|Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek]] (MP, deputy federal spokeswoman)
* [[Ulrike Lunacek]] (MP, spokeswoman for foreign policy)
* [[Karl Oellinger]] (MP, deputy federal speaker)
* [[Madeleine Petrovic]] (Club chairlady of the Lower Austrian Greens)
* [[Peter Pilz]] (MP, spokesman for defence)
* [[Johannes Rauch]], (Club chairman and state speaker for Vorarlberg)
* [[Marie Ringler]], (Member of the Viennese state assembly, spokeswoman for culture and technology)
* [[Michaela Sburny]] (MP, Spokeswoman for the economy, Federal Executive Manager of the party)
* [[Therezija Stoisits]] (MP, spokeswoman for minorities)
* [[Ingrid Lechner Sonnek]] (Club chairlady of the Styrian Greens)
* [[Alexander Van der Bellen]] (Federal Speaker, club chairman in the National Council)
* [[Maria Vassilakou]] (Club chairlady of the Viennese Greens)
* [[George Willi]] (Club chairman and state speaker for the Tyrol)
=== Members of the European Parliament ===
* [[Mercedes Echerer]] ([[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]] from 1999 - 2004)
* [[Eva Lichtenberger]] (MEP since 2004, member of the Austrian national convention)
* [[Johannes Voggenhuber]] (MEP since 1995, Member of the [[European Convention]], member of the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union]])
== External links ==
{{commonscat-inline|Austrian Green Party}}
* [http://www.gruene.at Die Grünen] - official website (in German)
* [http://www.europa.gruene.at Austrian Greens in the European Parliament]
* [http://www.europeangreens.org/peopleandparties/members/austria.html Die Grünen Austria at European Greens]
* [http://www.photoglobe.info/ebooks/austria/cstudies_austria_0140.html The Green Parties] Country Studies - Austria
{{Austrian political parties}}
{{Green Parties}}
[[Category:Green political parties]]
[[Category:Political parties in Austria]]
[[Category:European Green Party]]
[[Category:Members of the European Greens - European Free Alliance]]
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