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Österreichs erstes Volksbegehren?

    Thomas OLECHOWSKI

Beiträge zur Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs 13. Jahrgang Heft 2/2023, pp. 194-208, 2023/11/21

Alkohol in der Rechtsgeschichte

doi: 10.1553/BRGOE2023-2s194

doi: 10.1553/BRGOE2023-2s194

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doi:10.1553/BRGOE2023-2s194



doi:10.1553/BRGOE2023-2s194

Abstract

In 1927, a non‐party committee around the theology professor Johannes Ude and the law professor Adolf Merkl initiated a popular initiative to restrict alcohol abuse. This direct democratic means of initiating a parliamentary bill had been introduced into the federal constitution in 1920 but had never been used until then. Among other things, the popular initiative aimed to ban the serving of alcohol at weekends, and drinking debts should not be enforceable. The required hurdle of 200,000 votes could not be reached because none of the parliamentary parties were willing to support the initiative. The church hierarchy also suppressed the political movement that had emanated from the priest Ude and weakened the Christian Social Party.

Keywords: direct democracy – popular initiative – prohibition – Ude movement