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Austria

Landlocked country in central Europe, bounded east by Hungary, south by Slovenia and Italy, west by Switzerland and Liechtenstein, northwest by Germany, north by the Czech Republic, and northeast by the Slovak Republic.

Government

Austria is a federal democratic republic with a parliamentary executive. It comprises nine provinces (Länder), each with its own provincial assembly (Landtag), provincial governor, councillors, and written constitution. Austria's 1920 constitution was amended in 1929, suspended during Hitler's regime, and reinstated in 1945. There is a two-chamber federal assembly or parliament, comprising a national council (Nationalrat) and a federal council (Bundesrat). The Nationalrat has 183 members, directly elected by universal suffrage through proportional representation, for a four-year term. The Bundesrat has 64 members elected by the provincial assemblies for varying terms of five to six years. Each province provides a chair for the Bundesrat for a six-month term. The national council is the most powerful chamber, but the federal council has powers to delay legislation through a veto. The federal president, elected by popular vote for a six-year term, is formal head of state and chooses the federal chancellor on the basis of support of the majority of deputies in the Nationalrat. The federal chancellor is head of government and chooses the cabinet. The national council can oust the federal chancellor through a motion of no confidence.

History For the history of Austria before 1920, see Austria: history to 1920.

Austria in the 1920s

Following the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the last Habsburg emperor was overthrown, and Austria became a republic, comprising only Vienna and its immediately surrounding provinces. The Treaty of St Germain, signed in 1919 by Austria and the Allies, established Austria's present boundaries.

The political history of the new republic was characterized from the outset by a bitter struggle between the Social Democrats and the Christian Socialists (who had substantial middle-class support). The workers of Vienna, which now dominated the new state, had played a decisive part in establishing the republic, and as a result socialism had great influence in the National Assembly immediately after the overthrow of the Dual Monarchy. The first chancellor was the Socialist leader, Karl Renner, who sought to establish a working agreement between the Social Democrats and the Christian Socialists. Key issues at this time were the Tirol question and the Anschluss, or union, with Germany, which were of concern to those with pro-German sympathies.

The Tirol question concerned the protection of the German-speaking minorities in the South Tirol (that part of the old Austrian crown land that passed to Italy after 1918 under the terms of the peace treaty). The practical acquiescence of successive Austrian governments in the Tirol situation drove many moderate, patriotic Austrians into the extreme pan-German camp. The unemployment and poverty created by Austria's weak economy encouraged the growth of extreme leftist and non-socialist groups in Vienna and led many Austrians to consider that the best way of achieving economic stability would be through economic union with Germany.

Internal tensions increase

In 1927, after serious Social Democrat rioting in Vienna, a Heimwehr, or bourgeois private army, was formed to challenge the illegal socialist armed bands in the city. The Social Democrats replaced the Christian Socialists as the largest single party in parliament after the elections of 1930, but had to rely on the support of the pan-German group. In 1931, as the economy worsened, with world depression, Austria entered into a customs union with Germany, despite international opposition. However, this customs union only lasted several months, collapsing after the failure of the country's largest bank and the return of the Christian Socialists to power.

Internal tension was growing. In 1932 Engelbert Dollfuss, a Christian Socialist, became chancellor. He allied with the Heimwehr group to maintain his position, and adopted a line independent of both the pan-Germans (by now Nazi in character) and the socialists. To do this he resorted to dictatorial methods. In February 1934 the socialists rose in revolt against the Heimwehr, and for several days there was civil war in Vienna and in larger provincial towns. The rising was crushed with heavy loss of life to the socialists, and their leaders were executed. Dollfuss, who had suppressed the rising, forfeited much of the support he had previously gained abroad for his resistance to the German Nazis, besides driving some socialists into a conspiracy with the Austrian Nazis to overthrow his government.

Stringent laws against political violence were now introduced, and a new constitution introduced suspending democracy and making Austria a corporative state. Some of the Nazi conspirators were imprisoned, with the result that in July 1934 there was a sudden (unsuccessful) Nazi revolt, in which Dollfuss was assassinated. He was succeeded as chancellor by Kurt von Schuschnigg.

Annexation by Germany and World War II

After 1934 Austrian independence was gravely threatened by the annexationist ambitions of Adolf Hitler (himself Austrian-born), and the pressure on Austria further increased following Italy's alliance with Germany in 1936. In February 1938 Schuschnigg was forced to accept a Nazi minister of the interior, and finally, in March 1938, the Germans occupied the country. The Austrian president was forced to resign, and Schuschnigg was imprisoned. The army was incorporated with that of Germany, which also took over diplomatic representation abroad. The Austrian Diet was dissolved, the German mark substituted for the Austrian schilling, and the country subordinated to the Reich as the German province of ‘Ostmark’ (East Mark), under Hitler's dictatorship. The German annexation met with no armed resistance, and the Anschluss (union) became an accomplished fact.

In World War II Austria's armed forces, subsumed under German control, were used on the Eastern Front throughout the campaign against the Soviet Union, or USSR (for more details of the Eastern Front see World War II). Though many Austrians had originally welcomed the Anschluss, serious opposition to it, though largely unorganized, had existed from the start. Certainly by 1943, once the war had begun to turn against Germany, the attitude of the Austrian people generally was anti-Nazi; this was manifested in acts of sabotage in agriculture, and by opposition from industrial workers, who suffered heavy losses at the hands of Nazi execution squads. However, Austria was useful to Germany as an air-raid shelter, and affluent Germans evacuated their families to Austria, even before the mass evacuation to the Alpine districts. Hence Austria suffered from a shortage of houses and food, and in 1943 the population was 10 million compared with 7 million before the war.

At the Moscow Conference in October 1943 Britain, the USA, and the USSR pledged to restore Austrian independence. By April 1945 Russian armies had crossed the Austrian frontier, and on 13 April Vienna was captured.

The restoration of Austrian independence

On 27 April 1945 a provisional Austrian government was set up in Vienna, and in October 1945 the Allies recognized it as the rightful Austrian government. Its constitutional structure was based on the constitution of 1920. Elections held in November 1945 resulted in a coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP, the Catholic party). Subsequently Leopold Figl) of the People's Party became chancellor, while Karl Renner, the veteran Socialist, became president.

After the cessation of hostilities Austria was divided into British, US, French, and Soviet zones of occupation. Vienna, within the 1937 boundaries of the city, was jointly occupied by armed forces of the four Allied powers, and its administration directed by an inter-Allied governing authority of commandants appointed by the respective commanders in chief. At a meeting in September 1945 the Allied council of foreign ministers decided that the frontier of Austria would not be changed save for minor rectifications, and this decision therefore barred the restoration to Austria of the South Tirol, of which it had been deprived in 1919. At various times since 1945, incidents in the German-speaking areas of the Italian Tirol have led to renewed popular support in Austria for a revision of the Tirol frontiers in Austria's favour.

The post-war Austrian government concentrated on reconstruction. Vienna had suffered severe damage, and major rehousing programmes were begun. However, the division of Austria and Vienna into separate zones hindered economic recovery. In 1955 a peace treaty was signed by Britain, France, the USA, and the USSR recognizing Austria's sovereignty. The occupation forces were withdrawn, and Austria's future neutrality was stipulated, which continued throughout the Cold War. Reparations were to be paid by Austria to the USSR over a ten-year period.

Austria suffered few crises in the post-war years. Prosperity returned, helped by good labour relations and tourism, and in 1960 Austria became a founding member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). From 1953 Austria was governed by a coalition of the People's Party and the Social Democrats, with legislation passed on the basis of consensus and consultation with interest groups, including businesses and labour unions. Until 1961 the chancellor was Julius Raab. In 1966 the People's Party achieved a majority of parliamentary seats in the general election and formed the first non-coalition government since the war, with Josef Klaus as chancellor.

The period of Social Democrat dominance

The Social Democrats formed a minority government under Bruno Kreisky in 1970 and achieved a majority in parliament at the 1971, 1975, and 1979 general elections. The government was nearly defeated in 1978 over proposals to install the first nuclear power plant. The plan was abandoned, but nuclear energy remained a controversial issue. The Social Democrats lost their majority in 1983, and Kreisky resigned, refusing to join a coalition. The Social Democrats' decline was partly attributed to the emergence of two environmentalist groups, the United Green Party (VGÖ) and the Austrian Alternative List (ALÖ). Fred Sinowatz, the new Social Democrats' chair, headed a new government, with coalition support from the Freedom Party (FPÖ).

The Waldheim controversy and creation of a ‘grand coalition’

In spring 1986, Kurt Waldheim, a former UN secretary general, was elected president. However, revelations that he had served in the German army during World War II led to a diplomatic boycott of Austria by a number of countries. This persuaded Sinowatz to resign as chancellor and he was succeeded by Franz Vranitzky. The Social Democrats' coalition with the Freedom Party broke up in September 1986 when another right-wing extremist, Jörg Haider, became the new leader of the Freedom Party. However, after a general election, Vranitzky remained as chancellor, heading a ‘grand coalition’ with the People's Party, led by Alois Mock, who became vice chancellor. Sinowatz denounced the new coalition as a betrayal of socialist principles and resigned as the Social Democrats' chair.

Entering the European Union

In the 1990 general election the Socialists won a clear lead over other parties and Vranitzky began another term as chancellor. Thomas Klestil, the candidate of the People's Party, replaced Waldheim as president in 1992 (and was later re-elected in 1998). A referendum held in June 1994 gave a clear endorsement of Austria's application for European Union (EU) membership. Despite gains for far-right parties, including the Freedom Party, in the October 1994 general election, the Social Democrats-People's Party ‘grand coalition’ continued under Vranitzky's leadership, and in January 1995 Austria left EFTA to become a full EU member.

The governing coalition collapsed in October 1995 following disagreements over the budget and popular disillusion with EU membership, and the strict convergence criteria for monetary union. The Social Democrats won the December 1995 general election and in February 1996 Vranitzky renewed the coalition government with the People's Party. In January 1997, Viktor Klima became chancellor.

In March 1998, the government ruled out membership of NATO for at least five years.

Coalition government between the People's Party and the far-right Freedom Party: 2000-06

The general election in late 1999 saw a surge in support for the Freedom Party, which attracted 27% of the vote and finished in second place, ahead of the People's Party. Controversially, in February 2000, the People's Party leader Wolfgang Schüssel, formed a coalition government with the far-right Freedom Party, led by Jörg Haider, then governor of the region of Carinthia. It was the first time since World War II that a far-right party had been included in a Western European government. It was met with protests from the Austrian electorate and across Europe, particularly since it was revealed that Haider had Nazi links and sympathies. The EU's 14 other member states froze diplomatic contacts with Austria, Israel removed its ambassador immediately, and the USA recalled its ambassador.

Haider decided to resign as Freedom Party leader in May 2000, being replaced by his ally Susanne Riess-Passer, and did not join the coalition government, but he pulled strings from outside. In September 2000, after an EU report found Austria had a satisfactory human-rights record, EU members lifted their diplomatic sanctions against Austria. On 1 January 2002, euro notes and coins were introduced as the national currency.

The Freedom Party withdrew from the federal coalition government in September 2002. The People's Party made substantial gains in the November 2002 general election, ending in first place for the first time since 1966. However, it fell short of a majority and in February 2003 formed a new coalition government with the Freedom Party, which lost much popular support at the election. The coalition lasted until April 2005, when the Freedom Party split, with Haider and the majority of its deputies leaving to form a new, more pragmatic nationalist party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ). The Alliance joined the People's Party in a new federal coalition.

‘Grand coalition’ government: 2007-

In the October 2006 general election, support for the People's Party fell by 8% (to 34%) and the Social Democrats narrowly emerged as the largest party, with 35% of the vote. Neither of the main parties was able to form a coalition with the smaller parties, the Greens (which finished third for the first time) or the Freedom Party, each of which attracted 11% of the vote, or the BZÖ, which won just over 4% of the vote. The Freedom Party had campaigned on an anti-immigration and anti-Islamic platform. In January 2007 a Social Democrat-People's Party ‘grand coalition’ government was formed, with the Social Democrat leader, Alfred Gusenbauer, as chancellor.

Austria: history to 1920 Bismarck, Otto Eduard Leopold von

Burgenland France: history 1515-1815

German unification Germany: history 1815-1919

Kreisky, Bruno Lower Austria

Tirol World War I