After the shadowy existence of the last few years, the Ukraine war has brought the relevance and condition of the domestic army back into focus. In a current study, the online research institute Marketagent asked 500 Austrians about the reputation and tasks of the domestic armed forces.

According to a current survey by the online research institute Marketagent, 7 out of 10 respondents are of the opinion that Austria needs armed forces, i.e. its own federal army. For comparison: 10 years ago, i.e. in 2012, only a good half shared this opinion (57%). "While the federal army has led a rather shadowy existence in Germany in recent years, both the corona pandemic - in which the armed forces provided active support - and the war in Ukraine have brought the importance of the army back to the population's minds," explains Thomas Schwabl, Managing Director of Marketagent.

The Austrian military can also look forward to good image values: almost every second respondent attests that the federal army has a positive reputation - only surpassed by the police with 61% approval. The parliament (24%) and the federal government (21%) trailed behind in the ranking. The survey also confirms that NATO has a rather restrained image in Germany. While Sweden, along with Finland, is now striving to join the defense alliance, the neutrality debate in Austria continues to be very cautious. This is also reflected in the attitude of the population: only around a third of those questioned trust NATO or attest to a good image.

Those surveyed clearly see domestic disaster relief (85%) as the most important task of the domestic armed forces. They are followed by border guards (77%) and national defense (66%). Even if the importance of the army is at an all-time high, there is little confidence in the equipment and clout of the armed forces in this country. Only around one in six (17%) would describe the armed forces as well equipped, only 19% think that the armed forces are powerful and sufficiently ready for action at all times. Conversely, 6 out of 10 are of the opinion that the federal army has been ruined. “A majority of the population sees a need for action here. 71% are in favor of increasing the army budget. The citizens want to see the additional funds invested primarily in disaster relief and national defence," explains Thomas Schwabl.

Hardly anyone in this country thinks that Austria has great chances of success in the event of an attack. Only 13% think that we could successfully defend ourselves in the event of war. Perhaps one of the reasons for the slight increase in the attractiveness of the professional army: 47% would currently support the introduction of a professional army, 40% advocate maintaining general conscription, and 13% are undecided. This means that the majorities are exactly the opposite of what they were in 2012: 10 years ago, the majority of 49% was still in favor of the status quo, i.e. the continuation of conscription.