National Council (Austria) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids National Council Nationalrat
28th Legislative Period
Type
Type	Lower house of the Austrian Parliament
History
Founded	10 November 1920 (1920-11-10)
Preceded by	Constituent National Assembly
Leadership
President	Walter Rosenkranz (FPÖ) Since 24 October 2024
Second President	Peter Haubner (ÖVP) Since 24 October 2024
Third President	Doris Bures (SPÖ) Since 24 October 2024
Structure
Seats	183
Political groups	Government (110)      ÖVP (51)      SPÖ (41)      NEOS (18) Opposition (73)      FPÖ (57)      Greens (16)
Elections
Voting system	Open list proportional representation
Last election	29 September 2024
Next election	By 2029
Meeting place
Austrian Parliament Building, Vienna

The National Council (called Nationalrat in Austrian German) is like the main decision-making body in Austria. It's one of the two parts of the Austrian Parliament, and it's often called the "lower house." The National Council has much more power than the other part, the Federal Council.

What the National Council Does

The National Council is where most of Austria's federal laws are made. For a new law to be created, the National Council must agree on it.

How Laws Are Made

When the National Council passes a bill (a proposed law), it then goes to the Federal Council.

• If the Federal Council approves the bill, or if they don't do anything for eight weeks, the bill becomes a law.
• If the Federal Council says no to the bill, the National Council can still make it a law. They just have to vote on it again with a stronger majority.

This means the Federal Council usually can't stop laws from being passed.

Special Cases for Laws

There are a few times when the Federal Council can stop a law:

• Laws that limit the powers of Austria's different states.
• Laws that are about the Federal Council's own rights.
• Agreements with other countries that affect the states.

The National Council also needs to approve many important decisions made by the Federal Assembly. For example, if there's a vote to ask the public to remove the President from office, or to declare war, the National Council needs to agree with a two-thirds majority.

How Members Are Chosen

Regional constituencies in Austria. State constituencies are shown in colors.

The National Council has 183 members. These members are chosen by people across Austria in an election that happens every five years. Anyone in Austria who is 16 years old or older on election day can vote.

The Voting System

Austria uses a voting system called "proportional representation" with "partially open lists." This system tries to make sure that the number of seats a political party gets in the National Council is similar to the percentage of votes they received.

Here's a simple way it works:

• Austria is divided into nine main voting areas, which are the same as its states. These areas are then split into 39 smaller local voting areas.
• Political parties create lists of candidates for each local and regional area, and also a list for the whole country.
• When people vote, they choose a party list. They can also choose a specific candidate on that party's list. This means voters have some say in which individual candidates get elected.
• Votes are counted first in the local areas. Seats are given out based on how many votes a party gets compared to the total votes in that area.
• Any votes that don't help a party win a seat at the local level are then counted at the regional level.
• Finally, any remaining votes are counted at the national level to fill the last few seats. A party usually needs at least 4% of the total votes to get seats at the regional or national level.

How Austria's Government Works

Austria's constitution says that the President is in charge of the government. However, in real life, the Chancellor and their team (called the Cabinet) do most of the daily work of running the country. The Chancellor and Cabinet need the support of the National Council to stay in power.

President vs. Chancellor

Even though the President has the power to choose ministers or a Chancellor, they can't keep them in office if the National Council doesn't approve. The National Council can even remove a minister or the whole Cabinet. While the President could technically dissolve the National Council, this power is almost never used.

So, Austria works more like a "parliamentary democracy." This means the government (the Cabinet) is mainly chosen and controlled by the National Council, and the President's role is more symbolic.

The President of the National Council

The constitution says the President of the National Council is Austria's second most important public official, right after the President of Austria. But in practice, the Chancellor is the most powerful political figure. So, the President of the National Council mostly acts as a referee for debates in parliament.

Latest Election Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Freedom Party of Austria	1,408,514	28.85	+12.68	57	+26
	Austrian People's Party	1,282,734	26.27	-11.19	51	–20
	Social Democratic Party of Austria	1,032,234	21.14	-0.04	41	+1
	NEOS	446,378	9.14	+1.04	18	+3
	The Greens	402,107	8.24	-5.66	16	–10
	Communist Party – KPÖ Plus	116,891	2.39	+1.70	0	0
	The Beer Party	98,395	2.02	+1.92	0	0
	Madeleine Petrovic List	28,488	0.58	New	0	New
	Der Wandel	27,830	0.57	+0.11	0	0
	MFG Austria	19,785	0.41	New	0	New
	Gaza List	19,376	0.40	New	0	New
	The Yellows	156	0.00	New	0	New
Total		4,882,888	100.00	–	183	0
Valid votes		4,882,888	99.05
Invalid/blank votes		46,857	0.95
Total votes		4,929,745	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,346,059	77.68
Source: Interior Ministry, ORF

Results by State

States shaded by the parties' result

State	FPÖ		ÖVP		SPÖ		NEOS		Grüne		Others		Turnout
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Burgenland	28.8	2	28.6	2	27.0	1	6.5	-	4.7	-	4.4	-	82.5
Carinthia	38.4	4	20.8	2	23.1	2	7.8	-	4.7	-	5.2	-	76.9
Lower Austria	29.2	10	29.9	11	20.2	7	8.5	3	6.7	2	5.5	-	82.0
Upper Austria	30.5	9	26.3	8	20.3	6	8.3	2	8.4	2	6.2	-	80.1
Salzburg	27.7	3	31.6	3	16.8	1	9.0	-	8.5	-	6.4	-	78.4
Styria	32.2	8	27.0	7	18.6	5	8.2	2	7.6	2	6.4	-	78.5
Tyrol	28.7	4	31.0	4	15.4	2	10.6	1	8.1	1	6.2	-	74.3
Vorarlberg	27.1	2	29.1	2	13.1	1	12.6	1	11.4	-	6.7	-	71.8
Vienna	20.7	6	17.4	5	29.9	9	11.4	3	12.3	4	8.3	-	71.9
Nationwide	N/A	9	N/A	7	N/A	7	N/A	6	N/A	5	N/A	-	N/A
Austria	28.8	57	26.3	51	21.1	41	9.1	18	8.2	16	6.4	-	77.7
Source: Interior Ministry

Past Members of the National Council

From 1919 to 1930

Since 1945

Who Is in the National Council Now

See also

In Spanish: Consejo Nacional de Austria para niños

• List of presidents of the National Council of Austria
• Federal Assembly (Austria)
• Federal Council (Austria)
• Politics of Austria
• List of legislatures by country