1968 General Election - Austrian Election Series

[Cranberry]

The 1964 election provided huge losses for the SPÖ, yet a narrow majority (86 seats) for the last government and the parties that supported it. While the first place VdU tried to get the new CSP to enter into a coalition with them, Chancellor Bruno Pittermann was forced to resign as SPÖ leader. Foreign minister Bruno Kreisky was chosen as his successor, and could, to the surprise of many obsevers, form a minority coalition government of SPÖ and CSP, relying on the support of the KPÖ. The Communists, despite scoring the second place, were hesitating at first, but were pleased by the installation of two communists as "independent" ministers. The new cabinet with Kreisky as Chancellor and CSP-politician and former foreign minister Karl Gruber as Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister was sworn in in early 1965.

Believed to be short-lived as its predecessor government, Kreisky's superb political talent was able to hold the government together until the next regular election in December 1968. The government's masterpiece of reform, pushed heavily by the Communists, was voting reform, resulting in an increase of the seats in the National Council to 183, of which three, one per each, would be reserved for the nation's biggest minority groups: the Slovenes in Kärnten and the Croats and Hungarians in the Burgenland.

A second successfully implemented reform dealt with the education system, with the state now most prominently providing school books for every Austrian student - they had to be paid individually beforehand - and gratis transport to school by busses; but which also saw improvements to teacher's trainings.

Soon after the 1964 election, the Wirtschaftsbund and the VdU officially merged, forming the Liberalkonservative Partei (Liberal Conservative Party; LKP). While mainly consisting of former VdU politicians, the new party was in its outline quite similar but placed a bigger emphasis on conservativism to gain back rural voters lost to the CSP. Salzburg governor Josef Klaus was elected its leader.

The year 1968 saw huge turbulences all over Europe that also affected Austria. In spring, student protests in France and later Germany sparked the birth of the student and emancipation movements, which, while weaker and later than in those countries, also began to gain ground in Austria, especially in urban areas and within the Communist Party.

In Summer, the "Spring of Prague" was violently put to an end by the Sovjets, and while Austria's soverignity was not violated, all major parties - including the Communists - spoke vehemently against this Sovjet involvement, and many Czechs and Slovaks crossed the border and fled to their neighbouring countries, including Austria.

LKP:
The new party has immediately found a talking point with the ongoings in Czechoslovakia, claiming what happened there could easily happen in Austria if the Communists kept playing a role in government and transforming Austria into "one of Moscow's satellites". The party furthermore opposes any government reforms instated during the last four years, and is heavily against the female emancipation movement.

KPÖ:
The Communists want to gain the first place this election, finally forming government themselves, and they hope to do so by advocating the last government's reforms on the social state, promising further work in this departement, and embracing the demands of the feminist movement, spearheading women's equality.

SPÖ:
Chancellor Kreisky's SPÖ is naturally campaining on the government's successes, promising to further expand Austria's social state. Kreisky is a bit more cautious on the social issues of the day than the Communists, but promising reforms, starkly different from the country's conservative groups.

CSP:
The CSP is especially strong among a rural consticuency, and here mainly in conservative Tirol, and caters nearly exclusively to these voters. They claim to be a "voice of reason" in government, supporting reforms on welfare and economic policies, but moderating the government in regards to the "radically left" issues of the day. They are also the only party to emphasis on foreign issues in regards to South Tirol and Italy's promised but not realised autonomy for South Tirol, their leader and Foreign Minister Karl Gruber promising to bring the case before the UN.

FPÖ:
The FPÖ is again campaining against the KPÖ involvement in government, claiming Austria was on the way to become a member of the Warsaw Pact. They comment little on the government's social state reforms, but cater to their reactionary consticuency in regards to the student and emancipation movements.

3 days

[Cranberry]

Cranberry, have you considered doing some single-member constituencies in addition to the proportional system?

I have not, no, as it just doesn't seem very fit for Austria. But given the major departments from RL we have seen here already in the sixties, I'll give it a second thought. I suppose you mean a system similar to the German?

Lol a plurality of the forum oppose female emancipation.

what is "female emancipation" anyway?

Should have elaboarted more on that, mainly in the 60ies in Austria it meant official equality before the law, which was not given until the 70ies IRL, meaning a woman could not work, sign contracts, open bank accounts etc. without the signature of their father/husband. So it's not at all just dealing with abortion legalization.

What's the parties' viewpoint on the Prague Spring and its aftermath?

LKP and FPÖ claim something similar to the Soviet invasion could happen in Austria too if the Communists become too influential. SPÖ, CSP, KPÖ condemn the Soviet invasion, but say little more.

[Cranberry]

By the way, is Austria in EFTA in this timeline?

Oh sh-t, completely forgot about this! Let's say yes, the market-liberal government of 1960 surely wouldn't have anything against something like the EFTA.

[Cranberry]

Can whoever's causing the late LKP surges to stop, at least for this vote? At least let us have female emancipation!

No, Kreisky is a Nazi apologist and thus completely unfit to be dog catcher.

But what if the KPO wins? They won't have Kreisky as Chancellor.

They might form a coalition with his party and give him major input on policy and besides, they're Communists.

I actually don't get your SPÖ hate in this. If it's because of Nazis, there is not and was not a dime worth of difference between any of the parties, despite maybe the Communists.

[Cranberry]

What on earth happened the last day? I know start to believe Crabcake's theory about CIA involvement...

Anyway, voting is closed, thank you for your participation.