Government of Austria

The Austrian Federal Government (German: Österreichische Bundesregierung) is a collective body that exercises executive power in the Republic of Austria. It is composed of the Chancellor, who is leader of the government, the Vice-Chancellor, and senior ministers. The President and the Government together form the executive branch of Austria.

Since the 1929 reform of the Austrian Constitution, all members of the Federal Government are appointed by the Austrian Federal President (according to Article 70 of the Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz (B-VG)[1]), who nevertheless has to seek a consensus with the National Council parliament, since a vote of no confidence would immediately enforce their dismissal. In practical terms usually the leader of the strongest political party, who ran as "chancellor candidate" in the parliamentary election, is asked to become Federal Chancellor; although there have been exceptions in the past. The nominations of the ministers takes place at the suggestion of the Chancellor, though the President is permitted to withhold his or her approval. Likewise, the President may dismiss the Chancellor and/or the whole government at any time. However, a new government must be formed by the parties that control parliament.

The government is convened for frequently scheduled meetings. When formally convened as such, the government is termed the Council of Ministers (German: Ministerrat), which is equivalent to the word "cabinet". The Chancellor presides over cabinet meetings as first among equals without decisional authority, regardless of his right of proposal concerning the appointment of the government's members by the President. The cabinet adopts resolutions in the presence of at least half of its members and, according to the ruling of the Austrian Constitutional Court, unanimously – in particular the introduction of bills to the National Council. Each federal minister is also responsible for his or her own ministry, and may be supported by one or more state secretaries (junior ministers), who also participate in the cabinet's meetings. State secretaries are not considered members of the government, and have no right to vote during cabinet meetings.

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