Cutting Costs in Politics

The Public Is Now to Vote on Party Funding

In the end, the decision on whether to abolish the millions in party funding will be made by those who collect them.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

NEOS co-founder Veit Dengler, following his expulsion from the pink-colored governing party, is now planning his own referendum against party funding. The initiative could soon enter its final phase. However, there are still several hurdles to overcome before it can be implemented.

Veit Dengler wouldn’t be Veit Dengler if he had simply given up. As is well known, the NEOS co-founder fell out with his party this summer. The disagreement stemmed from his vocal criticism that NEOS had agreed to not increase party funding but had failed to push through a reduction in it. However, he was ultimately expelled because Dengler had a tape recording running during an internal party meeting.

Veit Dengler, now an independent member of the National Council.(Bild: Thomas Topf)

Since then, the “maverick lawmaker” has been sitting in the National Council without a caucus, without an organizational structure, and without funding. Perhaps that is precisely why he now wants to show that there is another way—and to overturn state party funding via a referendum. Bypassing precisely those parties that live off the millions. A head-on attack on the system? “A civil society project,” Dengler himself explains to the *Krone*. After his expulsion, many people reached out to him, agreeing with his stance on party funding. That’s how the idea came about—the project is set to enter its final phase in the coming days. 

In the end, it’s those who pocket the millions who will decide whether to abolish them.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

What It Would Take
But only then will the real work begin. To initiate the process, Dengler first needs about 8,900 declarations of support; only then will the Ministry of the Interior schedule the eight-day registration period. Once 100,000 signatures are collected, the National Council must address the issue—and only address it, not implement it. Parliament is not obligated to adopt the proposed measure—because the final decision rests with the members of parliament.

Political parties vote on it themselves
Which brings us to the real crux of the matter: In the end, those who collect the millions in party funding are the ones who decide on its abolition. Added to this is a problem of reach—a federal referendum can only challenge federal law; it doesn’t even reach the lion’s share of issues at the state, municipal, and chamber levels. And the field is crowded: From the “Abolition of the Federal States” to the “New Elections” referendum, several initiatives are already vying for signatures.

This won’t be a surefire success—after all, there has already been a referendum to “abolish party subsidies” before. What remains is the slogan that would carry the entire campaign: turkeys voting on Christmas. Dengler knows this. That’s precisely why he’s likely turning to the people.