The Bierlein government (german: Bundesregierung Bierlein) was the 32nd
Government of Austria
The Government of Austria (german: Bundesregierung der Republik Österreich) is the executive cabinet of the Republic of Austria. It consists of the chancellor, who is the head of government, the vice chancellor and the ministers.
Appointme ...
following the collapse of the
First Kurz government
The First Kurz government (german: Erste Bundesregierung Kurz or ''Kurz I'' for short) was the 30th Government of Austria in office from 18 December 2017 until 3 June 2019. It succeeded the Kern government formed after the 2017 legislative elec ...
headed by Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz
Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is a former Austrian politician who twice served as chancellor of Austria, initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021.
Kurz was born and raised in Me ...
in the aftermath of the
Ibiza affair
The Ibiza affair (german: Ibiza-Affäre), also known as Ibiza-gate, was a political scandal in Austria involving Heinz-Christian Strache, the former vice chancellor of Austria and leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ), and Johann Gudenus, a deput ...
. Sworn in on 3 June 2019, the Bierlein government was the first purely technocratic government in Austrian history, first interim government after a successful
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
in Parliament and first government headed by a female
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
. As head of government,
Brigitte Bierlein
Brigitte Bierlein (; born 25 June 1949) is an Austrian former jurist who served as Chancellor of Austria from June 2019 to January 2020. An Independent, she was the first female Chancellor of Austria.
Bierlein served as the advocate general of t ...
was assisted by
Clemens Jabloner
Clemens Jabloner (born 28 November 1948) is an Austrian jurist who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria and Minister of Justice in the Bierlein government from 2019 to 2020. He previously served as president of the Supreme Administrative Court o ...
as vice-chancellor.
The cabinet was officially dissolved on 7 January 2020 and succeeded by the
Second Kurz government
The Second Kurz government (german: Zweite Bundesregierung Kurz or ''Kurz II'' for short) was the 33rd Government of Austria. Led by Sebastian Kurz as chancellor and Werner Kogler as vice-chancellor, it was sworn in by President Alexander Van de ...
, in which
The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to:
Current political parties
* Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens''
* Greens of Andorra
* Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Greens of Burkina
* Greens (Greece)
* Greens of Montenegro
*Greens of Serbia
*G ...
replaced the
Freedom Party as the
People's Party's junior coalition partner. Both newly-installed government parties have gained support at the expense of the People's Party's previous coalition partners in the
2019 legislative election.
Background
The
First Kurz government
The First Kurz government (german: Erste Bundesregierung Kurz or ''Kurz I'' for short) was the 30th Government of Austria in office from 18 December 2017 until 3 June 2019. It succeeded the Kern government formed after the 2017 legislative elec ...
was a coalition government between the conservative
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria.
Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...
(ÖVP) and the right-wing
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aust ...
(FPÖ). In May 2019, following the
Ibiza affair
The Ibiza affair (german: Ibiza-Affäre), also known as Ibiza-gate, was a political scandal in Austria involving Heinz-Christian Strache, the former vice chancellor of Austria and leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ), and Johann Gudenus, a deput ...
, vice chancellor and Freedom Party leader
Heinz-Christian Strache
Heinz-Christian Strache (; born 12 June 1969) is an Austrian politician and dental technician who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 2017 to 2019 before resigning owing to his involvement in the Ibiza affair. He was also Minister of Civi ...
and his deputy,
Johann Gudenus
Johann Gudenus or Johann Baptist Björn Graf von Gudenus (born 20 July 1976) is a former Austrian politician who served as a deputy leader of the Freedom Party.
Early life
Born into the noble Gudenus family, he is the second born son of F ...
, both resigned from all of their offices. People's Party Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz
Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is a former Austrian politician who twice served as chancellor of Austria, initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021.
Kurz was born and raised in Me ...
called for new elections. However, Kurz petitioned
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen to additionally remove the controversial
FPÖ Minister of the Interior,
Herbert Kickl
Herbert Kickl (born 19 October 1968) is an Austrian politician who has been leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) since June 2021. He previously served as Minister of the Interior from 2017 to 2019 and general-secretary of the FPÖ from 2 ...
, from office. This prompted all other FPÖ ministers to resign from their ministries as well.
As a result, the Kurz I government was no longer supported by a majority of the members of the National Council, and was removed in republican Austria's first successful
vote of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
. President Van der Bellen appointed
Brigitte Bierlein
Brigitte Bierlein (; born 25 June 1949) is an Austrian former jurist who served as Chancellor of Austria from June 2019 to January 2020. An Independent, she was the first female Chancellor of Austria.
Bierlein served as the advocate general of t ...
, then head of the
Constitutional Court, as interim chancellor. Following the Austrian constitution, she then picked the rest of the ministers, subject to the president's approval.
Significance
While Austria has a directly elected president who is legally allowed to appoint anybody he sees fit as
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
, the
National Council's ability to pass a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
means that Austrian governments effectively still require
confidence and supply, like in purely parliamentary democracies. Even though
coalition governments
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
have, in the past, often failed, they usually remained in office until the next government was elected and appointed. A technocratic government was sometimes mentioned as a possible alternative to partisan coalition governments, but beyond the occasional appointment of independent experts to select ministries, the idea was dismissed as unrealistic due to aforementioned confidence requirements.
The removal of Sebastian
Kurz from office marked the first time in the history of Austria that a successful motion of no confidence was passed against an entire government at once. President
Van der Bellen was forced to appoint a new government, but there were no other feasible coalitions, and the new election date was already set for late September. With votes from the opposition, including the ousted
Freedom Party, it was even moved to a later date than what was proposed by Kurz'
People's Party. It was therefore no a surprise when Van der Bellen, again for the first time in Austria, used his powers to appoint an independent chancellor.
Bierlein was the first chancellor not affiliated with either one of the major parties, the
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria.
Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...
and the
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...
. She was also the first female chancellor, and the first independent chancellor, to have been appointed following a successful motion of no confidence.
Composition
The cabinet consists of:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bierlein Cabinet
2019 establishments in Austria
Cabinets established in 2019
Politics of Austria
Austrian governments
2010s in Austria
Cabinets disestablished in 2020
2020 disestablishments in Austria