Five popular initiatives launch: From free contraception to Good Friday as a public holiday

"Free Contraception for All"

The most broadly scoped initiative is "Gratis Verhütung für alle" ("Free Contraception for All"). Among other things, the initiative demands the free distribution of condoms and dental dams in drugstores and pharmacies, as well as free hormonal and non-hormonal contraception and the morning-after pill. In addition, comprehensive sex education should be provided in educational institutions. In this way, the initiative combines care, education, and prevention in a single package.

Personnel offensive for the police

A second popular initiative is dedicated to internal security. The initiative "Polizei - kritischer Personalmangel" ("Police - Critical Staff Shortage"), launched by Social Democratic police unionists, demands that a constitutional law guarantee a minimum number of police officers tied to the residential population. Further demands include performance-based salaries, better working and service conditions, as well as sufficient time and personnel resources for training and continuing education. According to calculations, implementation would lead to an increase in the police force of at least 25 percent.

Compulsory voting and Good Friday

The third initiative concerns democracy itself: the initiative wants to introduce compulsory voting for National Council and federal presidential elections. Supporters argue that this would result in higher voter turnout and broader legitimacy of elected bodies; critics see it as an infringement on the voluntary nature of the act of voting.

Greater transparency in parliament

The initiative's demand is relatively simple: it wants Good Friday to become a public holiday. In doing so, the popular initiative picks up on a debate that recurs regularly in Austria in the context of equal treatment of religious communities.

What the signatures can trigger

The fifth popular initiative concerns parliament itself. Under the title "Transparenz im Parlament" ("Transparency in Parliament"), it advocates for the use of the electronic voting system installed in parliament but not yet put into operation. Accordingly, the legislature should enshrine in law that a roll-call electronic vote be the rule and that the individual voting behavior of all members of parliament be documented on the parliament's website. The initiative thus aims for greater traceability of political decisions.

The initiatives champion different issues — from enshrining Good Friday as a public holiday, to introducing compulsory voting for National Council and federal presidential elections, to the demand for more police personnel. If an initiative reaches 100,000 signatures, it must be debated in the National Council. All five initiatives thus have the chance to be brought into parliamentary discourse — provided they gather sufficient support.

The signing period runs for one week. Anyone who has already submitted a declaration of support in advance is automatically recorded and cannot cast another vote during this phase. Anyone who has not yet signed can now do so at any registration office in Austria or online using an electronic signature.

Overall, the kickoff of the signing week demonstrates the thematic diversity of direct democracy in Austria: the concerns range from social and health policy to internal security and electoral law, to public holiday regulations and parliamentary reform. In the coming days, voters thus have the opportunity to directly co-decide on several key political issues for the future and whether a topic finds its way into the National Council.

The signing week ends the following Monday. Afterward, the signatures will be counted; upon reaching the 100,000-signature threshold, debate in the National Council is mandatory. The outcome will ultimately be decided by the participation of citizens in the coming days.