In search of a strong government: from the first Austrian democratic Constitution to the second constitutional reform (1920-1929)
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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63277/gsc.v51i.5336Keywords:
Constitution, Parliamentary government, Representation, strong government, presidentialismAbstract
In the context of post-WWI Europe, the first Austrian democratic Republic represents an interesting “case study” regarding the callforstrengthening executive power emerging across Europe in response to a complex and conflictual social, political, and economic situation. In 1929, a second constitutional reform was enacted in Austria which, while preserving the parliamentary form of government, marked the end of the “absolute” primacy of legislative powerthat had characterized the 1920 Constitution, shifting the “focal point” toward the executive branch. This essay aims to examine and discuss in what sense the 1929 constitutional reform can be considered as an expression of the search for a “strong government” which implies, in its turn, a reconfiguration of the constitutional compromise between Social Democratic and conservative forces of nine years prior.
