1975 Austrian legislative election explained

Country:Austria
Flag Year:state
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:1971 Austrian legislative election
Previous Year:1971
Next Election:1979 Austrian legislative election
Next Year:1979
Seats For Election:All 183 seats in the National Council of Austria
Majority Seats:92
Election Date:5 October 1975
Image1:Kreisky-Koechler-Vienna-1980 Crop.jpg
Leader1:Bruno Kreisky
Party1:Social Democratic Party of Austria
Last Election1:50.04%, 93 seats
Seats1:93
Popular Vote1:2,326,201
Percentage1:50.42%
Swing1: 0.38pp
Party2:Austrian People's Party
Last Election2:43.11%, 80 seats
Seats2:80
Popular Vote2:1,981,291
Percentage2:42.95%
Swing2: 0.16pp
Image3:3x4.svg
Leader3:Friedrich Peter
Party3:Freedom Party of Austria
Last Election3:6.29%, 10 seats
Seats3:10
Popular Vote3:249,444
Percentage3:5.41%
Swing3: 0.88pp
Chancellor
Before Election:Bruno Kreisky
Before Party:Social Democratic Party of Austria
After Election:Bruno Kreisky
After Party:Social Democratic Party of Austria

Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 5 October 1975.[1] The result was a victory for the Socialist Party (SPÖ), which won 93 of the 183 seats. Voter turnout was 93%.[2]

Aftermath

The SPÖ was able to keep their absolute majority in this election as well and continued to appoint Bruno Kreisky as Chancellor. The Kreisky III Federal Government took office on 28 October 1975.

Following the elections, Simon Wiesenthal, at that time the head of the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna, published a report on the Nazi past of the long-serving Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leader Friedrich Peter. This report revealed that Peter had served as an Obersturmbannführer in an SS unit associated with mass murders. Despite having been a victim of the Nazi regime, Kreisky defended Peter and accused Wiesenthal of employing "Mafia methods" and implied that he had collaborated with the Gestapo.

This public dispute is today referred to as the Kreisky–Peter–Wiesenthal affair. In 1978 Peter did not run again for the position of FPÖ federal party chairman. His successor was the Mayor of Graz .

Notes and References

  1. [Dieter Nohlen]
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p215