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Austria Domestic Tranquillity under the Grand Coalition
The pattern of political cooperation established during the
occupation years and the economic reconstruction that took place
through the Marshall Plan laid the foundation for eleven years of
political tranquillity and economic prosperity. In 1957 the
government informally established the Parity Commission for
Prices and Wages. This commission soon far exceeded its intended
function of setting prices and wages and effectively established
the country's basic economic policy. By bringing together the
representatives of the major economic interest groups--the social
partners--and requiring unanimous decisions, the commission
became a powerful stabilizing force in Austrian society.
The effort of the SPÖ to broaden its electoral base helped
resolve long-standing questions about the status and role of the
Roman Catholic Church. The party realized that its inheritance of
liberal anticlericalism and Marxist hostility toward religion
stood in the way of attracting supporters who were devout Roman
Catholics. As the SPÖ moved away from Marxist rhetoric, party
leaders began to bridge the gulf between the SPÖ and Roman
Catholics. In this eased atmosphere, the coalition partners were
able to put the divisive issue of the 1934 concordat behind them.
A new agreement with the Vatican was signed in 1960.
The overall effect of the ÖVP-SPÖ grand coalition and the
social partnership represented by the Parity Commission, which
brought together major economic groups, was to limit parliament's
power. Most major economic and social decisions were made outside
parliamentary channels and simply ratified by the Nationalrat,
usually unanimously. Because no major policy differences were at
stake, elections mainly served to determine the proportion of the
patronage positions that would be accorded to the coalition
partners. As the country progressed from the trauma of World War
II and the occupation, members of both major parties began to
express dissatisfaction with the coalition and the toleration of
mismanagement and abuse of public office that the system appeared
to condone. In the 1966 electoral campaign, ÖVP leader Klaus
called for an end to the grand coalition. After winning an
absolute majority, however, the ÖVP proposed terms for continuing
the coalition, which Kreisky and other SPÖ leaders unsuccessfully
urged their party to accept. Despite the breakup of the
coalition, the Klaus government introduced no significant breaks
with past policy. The ÖVP's four years in office were thus a coda
to the grand coalition before the long period of SPÖ domination
under Kreisky began in 1970.
Data as of December 1993
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