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Austria Foreign Policy During the Kreisky Era
Bruno Kreisky, who had served as foreign minister between
1959 and 1966, laid great emphasis on an active, internationalist
foreign policy during his tenure as chancellor (1970-83).
Kreisky's vision of foreign policy was based on the notion that
Austria, as a neutral country, should seek to mediate conflicts
between countries and stake out independent and innovative
policies on various issues. He offered Vienna as a site for many
series of negotiations on nuclear arms reductions and other
international matters.
Among Kreisky's more controversial policies was his decision
to grant informal diplomatic recognition to the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1980. This was an outgrowth of
Kreisky's conviction that Israel was stubbornly refusing to
recognize the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people. The
fact that Kreisky was Jewish gave him a certain credibility in
becoming so involved in trying to solve the Arab-Israeli
conflict. Kreisky further surprised the world by receiving Libyan
leader Muammar al Qadhafi in Vienna. He also showed his
independent approach with his decision that Austria should
participate in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, despite the
boycott of the games orchestrated by United States president
Jimmy Carter in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in
1979. Austria also did not adhere to the economic boycott of Iran
organized by the United States after the seizure of its embassy
in Tehran in 1979.
During the 1970s, Austria collaborated extensively with other
neutral and nonaligned countries in the UN. Austria developed an
independent voting profile, frequently joining with other
neutrals such as Sweden to press for action on issues ignored by
countries belonging to military alliances. Austria also pursued
this kind of diplomacy with the nonaligned countries belonging to
the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Data as of December 1993
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