grüne Parteien#

Green Parties: The "New Social Movements" that have developed since the 1970s and questioned contents and modes of established politics resulted, in the 1980s, in the foundation of political parties which demanded the priority of ecological issues over economic ones, far-reaching democratisation of and control over political decisions, solidarity with third-world countries and disarmament. In Austria, it was the controversy over energy policy that led to "green", ecology-centred initiatives. The geologist A. Tollmann, who has become famous for his commitment against the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant, founded the first green party in Austria in 1982, the rather conservative "Vereinte Gruene Oesterreichs" (VGOe). The "Alternative Liste Oesterreichs" (ALOe), founded in 1983, was much more oriented towards achieving a change in society. However, the two groups did not come to an agreement and were on two different lists during the elections to the Nationalrat of 1983 and failed to enter Parliament. Not until shortly before the elections of 1986 (in which they were to win 8 seats), in the wake of the successful fight against the Hainburg power station on the River Danube ( Occupation of Hainburg Au), did they set up a unified party under the name of "Gruene Alternative" (GA) with F. Meissner-Blau as leading candidate; the party won 8 seats. Since 1995 the official name of the part is " Die Gruenen - Die Gruene Alternative (Gruene)" ("The Greens - The Green Alternative (Greens)"). Green parties are also represented in the Landtag of Vorarlberg, Tirol, Salzburg, Styria, Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Vienna. Voters for the green parties are mainly found in the younger generation, the potential green electorate consists primarily of university graduates, self-employed business people, members of the liberal professions, civil servants, and white-collar workers.