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Austria Domestic Policies
Despite Metternich's high profile, it was the emperor's
conservative outlook and hostility toward the values and ideas of
the French Revolution that set the parameters for Austrian
policy. This was especially true of domestic policy, which Franz
I retained under his direct personal control until his death in
1835. The composition of the state council that Franz selected to
rule in the name of his mentally incompetent son Ferdinand I
ensured the continuance of his policies until revolution shook
the foundations of Habsburg rule in 1848.
Franz's aim was to provide his subjects with good laws and
material well-being. To accomplish the first, he issued a new
penal code in 1803 and a new civil code in 1811. He expected that
the second--material well-being--would evolve naturally with the
reestablishment of peace, and he considered additional measures
unnecessary. Political and cultural life was kept under careful
scrutiny, however, to prevent the spread of nationalism and
liberalism. These two movements were a common threat to Franz's
conservative regime because his political opponents looked to the
establishment of a unified German nation-state incorporating
Austria as a means for realizing the liberal reforms impossible
in the framework of the Habsburg state.
Political stagnation, however, did not prevent broader
socioeconomic changes in Austria. By 1843 the population had
risen to 37.5 million, an increase of 40 percent from 1792. The
urban population was rising quickly, and Vienna counted nearly
400,000 inhabitants. Economically, a degree of stability was
reached, and the massive wartime deficits gave way to almost
balanced budgets. This was made possible by cutting state
expenditures to a level near actual revenues, and not by
instituting fiscal reforms to increase tax revenues. Austria's
ability to protect its interests abroad or carry out domestic
programs thus continued to be severely restrained by lack of
revenue.
Data as of December 1993
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