The Conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) has said it inadvertently voted into force a change of a federal law that has replaced the definition of biological sex with subjective notions of gender identity.
On September 18, in the last session of the Austrian parliament before the elections on September 29, 2024, ÖVP delegates – together with the MPs of the Social Democrats and the Greens – voted into force a change of various federal employment laws.
The package included a change to the Federal Equal Treatment Act – the clause mandating the “equality of women and men” was replaced with a requirement for “equality based on gender”. A separate amendment defined gender as “comprising gender traits, gender identity, gender expression and gender role”.
The change drew widespread criticism from right-wingers, and those on the Left. Heimo Lepuschitz, a right-wing commentator, called it “an epic fall from grace” and said the ÖVP had helped “wokeism” to victory.
Faika El-Nagashi, a Green MP, said she had abstained from the vote because she did not condone the replacement of objective sexes with subjective gender identities.
The new law, she said, constituted “Self ID through the back door”. Self-identification is the idea that a person’s legal sex should be determined not by their biological sex but by their subjective perception of their gender. It is a major goal of the so-called trans movement.
Heute wurde ein Paradigmenwechsel in der österreichischen Frauen- und Gleichstellungspolitik im #OeNR beschlossen – ausgerechnet im Bundesgleichbehandlungsgesetz. Warum ich der Abstimmung fern geblieben bin und was das bedeutet: 🧵 pic.twitter.com/kkoI2rsr93
— Faika El-Nagashi (@el_nagashi) September 18, 2024
The ÖVP initially did not comment on its reasons for condoning the change in the law. In its election programme the party listed “rejection of excessive gendering” as one of its five key principles in social policy.
On the evening of September 19, the ÖVP then said it had voted in favour of the change by mistake.
The Austrian Press Agency quoted an ÖVP spokesperson as saying: “It just happened to us. We saw it too late.”
In a statement to the press, ÖVP delegate Wolfgang Gerstl wrote: “The original definition of gender would have been perfectly adequate, a change in the legal situation was unnecessary. Unfortunately, with the amendment to the Equal Treatment Act during yesterday’s last session of the National Council before the election, a provision was included which we firmly reject.”
The admission has sparked both consternation and ridicule. Gerald Loacker, an MP for the Liberal Neos party said it showed how inferior Austrian politicians were. Harald Vilimsky, MEP for the right-wing Freedom Party, called the affair an embarrassment for the Conservatives.
Das österr. Politikpersonal ist inferior. Der Verfassungssprecher (!) der @volkspartei erklärt, man habe den Gesetzestext eines eigenen (!) Antrags „zu spät gesehen“. #zib2 #gleichbehandlung
Solche Pfeifen sitzen im #OeNR, aber nicht nur zwei oder drei.— Gerald Loacker (@GLoacker) September 19, 2024
The ÖVP has now promised to undo the legal change in the first session of parliament after the elections.
