Carinthia raises campaign spending cap as parties receive €11m

Carinthia’s state parliament has raised the election campaign spending limit to €750,000, while parties and parliamentary groups already receive about €11 million a year, public broadcaster ORF reported.

The higher cap does not automatically mean more public money will go to parties. If they use the full amount, they must cover the costs from their existing budgets. Separately, parties represented in the state parliament receive just under €9 million a year in party funding, which must be applied for annually and is used mainly for public relations, staff and operating costs.

Parliamentary groups receive more than €2 million in total for their work in the state parliament. The funding can cover conferences, training and further education, as well as experts.

The amounts are allocated according to the parties’ strength. The SPÖ receives about €3.2 million in party funding and almost €900,000 in group funding. The Freedom Party receives about €2.2 million and around €535,000, respectively. The ÖVP gets just under €1.8 million in party funding and more than €400,000 in group funding. Team Kärnten receives €1.4 million and almost €300,000.

Group funding favours parties that are not part of the state government, which have fewer opportunities to appear publicly. Parties must document that they have used the funding for its designated purpose, and an auditor must review their annual accounts.