Discover Tyrol : Current issues

Political System at a Glance

On the Austrian side. Austria is a parliamentary federal republic with 9 Länder (provinces). One of these 9 provinces is the Land of Tyrol, made up of North Tyrol (Nordtirol in German) and East Tyrol (Osttirol). The President of Austria is elected by direct universal suffrage for a six-year term, renewable once. Voting in the presidential election is a compulsory civic act. As the country's representative in foreign affairs, the President can enter into international treaties and agreements. He also appoints the chancellor and members of the government, and swears in provincial governors. He is also the head of the armed forces. Since 2017, the Federal President of the Republic of Austria has been Alexander van der Bellen, supported by the ecologists. It should be noted, however, that the president in Austria is considerably less powerful than the French president, and it is above all the chancellor who represents the country's political voice. The Chancellor is President of the Federal Government, which is made up of two chambers: the National Council (which passes laws) and the Federal Council (known as the Chamber of Provinces, which has the right to oppose laws passed by the National Council). In the parliamentary elections of September 2019, Sebastian Kurz's ÖVP (Austrian People's Party, center-right, Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative) comes out on top. On January¹, 2020, a pact was signed between the ÖVP, the Greens and the centrist liberal party NEOS, forming an unprecedented government committed to developing a policy centered on environmental protection and the fight against immigration... In July 2021, Austria decided to step up surveillance of its eastern and southern borders in response to the influx of migrants. Like the rest of Austria, the Austrian Tyrol is facing a rise in nationalism, with political life reflecting a retreat towards identity and protectionism. Indeed, election campaigns regularly focus on immigration and the fight against terrorism. Suspected of involvement in a corruption scandal, Sebastian Kurz resigned on October 9, 2021. Karl Nehammer was appointed leader of the ÖVP party and has been Chancellor since December 6, 2021.

Italy. The provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino, where Bolzano and Trento are located respectively, make up the Trentino-Alto Adige region, which enjoys a special status of autonomy. This status is also granted to other Italian regions: Sicily, Sardinia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Valle d'Aosta. Since 1972, the provinces of Bolzano and Trento have enjoyed almost all of the region's administrative, legislative and fiscal powers. The province of Bolzano enjoys the most extensive autonomy in Europe. The political organization of these provinces follows that of their Italian counterparts: they are represented by a Provincial Council (legislative body) and a Giunta (executive body). South Tyrol's dominant political party there is the SVP or Südtiroler Volkspartei (center-to-center-left Christian Democratic Party), while in Trentino it was the Lega (Federal Secretary Matteo Salvini, far-right populist party) that won the majority of votes in the 2018 elections. Maurizio Fugatti was elected president of the Trentino-Alto Adige region in 2021 following agreements between the SVP and the Lega. At national level, Italy is a bicameral parliamentary democratic republic, with the Chamber of Deputies (Roberto Fico, M5S, since 2018) and the Senate of the Republic (Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, Forza Italia, since 2018) exercising the legislative function. Executive power, meanwhile, is entrusted to the President of the Council of Ministers (since 2021 Mario Draghi, economist and banker), who is responsible for the government's general policy. The President of the Republic (Sergio Mattarella since 2015) is elected every 7 years by Parliament. His power consists in representing the Nation, and he actually has little influence on the political life of the State, although he can, after consulting their presidents, dissolve the two chambers or one of them. Any act of the President of the Republic is valid only if countersigned by the ministers who proposed it and who assume responsibility for it.

Economy at a Glance

Tyrol is an economically prosperous region in Europe, but the Coronavirus crisis has, as in the rest of the world, somewhat undermined this. In Italy, GDP per capita in 2020 ($35,451, source: OECD) is lower than in 2009 ($38,262). Austria's GDP for 2020 is $49,215, compared with $48,138 in 2009. This is still above the European average of $34,957 per capita for 2020. In addition, according to INSEE, the unemployment rate among 15-74 year-olds in September 2021 is 5.2% in the Austrian Tyrol, and 9.2% in the Italian Tyrol, which remains lower than the unemployment rate for the European Union as a whole at the same time (6.7%).

The role of industry. Thanks to its central location in Europe, Tyrol is a commercial crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe. For several decades now, the crisis in the industrial sector has had a lasting impact on Northern Italy, particularly in the automotive sector. Nevertheless, major companies are concentrated along the main arteries: the Inn valley in Austria (Innsbruck, Schwaz, Kufstein), and the Isarco and Adige valleys in Italy (Trento, Bolzano, Vipiteno). Mechanical engineering, woodworking and food processing are among the industrial sectors with the highest representation. Last but not least, there are industries linked to winter sports and the mountains, such as Leitner, one of the leading companies specializing in cable transport, with headquarters in Vipiteno. Another example is Salewa, based in Bolzano, which designs mountain clothing and mountaineering equipment.

The role of tourism. Over the years, tourism has become one of the major pillars of the Tyrolean economy. No fewer than 10 million tourists visit the Austrian Tyrol every year, and almost 6 million in the Italian Tyrol alone. Travellers are attracted by mountain activities in search of nature, authenticity and sporting activities: sublime ski areas, well-maintained and clearly-marked hiking trails, numerous well-equipped refuges, vias ferratas, mountaineering, mountain biking... not forgetting wine tourism, which has developed extensively along the Strada del Vino south of Bolzano and in Trentino.

The role of agriculture. Tyrol still boasts a large number of family-run farms and agricultural structures, even if many have reoriented or simply diversified their activities towards tourism. The Austrian Tyrol is renowned for the quality of its cattle, sheep and pig farming (meat and dairy products). Agriculture in the Austrian Tyrol remains a minor sector, however, with Austrian farming areas concentrated along the Danube and in the east of the country. In the Italian Tyrol, apple-growing is quite impressive: in some places, you can drive dozens of kilometers past fields of apple trees! Just to give you an idea, around one in ten apples consumed in the European Union comes from South Tyrol, representing almost 2% of world production. Grape-growing also plays an important role, with around 14,000 hectares cultivated in Italian Tyrol alone. In Trentino-Alto Adige, in the heart of the Dolomites, several valleys produce a number of famous vintages. The region is also a major producer of dairy products (try Merano yoghurt!) and poultry products. Italy is also Europe's leading producer of quality products (PDO, PGI or TSG). It is also one of the leaders in organic farming in the EU and the leading producer of high value-added wines. As is often the case, the price of land remains an obstacle to the development of the agricultural sector and to the installation of young farmers in particular. Other obstacles include the cost of modernizing structures, as well as exposure to natural hazards: in 2018, storm Vaia ravaged thousands of hectares of forest and many farms, particularly in the Dolomites. And climate change is not likely to improve this situation!

Natural resources. As far as natural resources are concerned, Tyrol's subsoil is home to magnesite, graphite and iron ore. The renewable energy sector is relatively well developed: immense water reserves provide the region with hydroelectric power to cover no less than two-thirds of its electricity needs. The use of fertile soils for traditional, sustainable and organic farming is another source of income for Tyrol, and forestry contributes to the region's healthy paper industry.