Editing History of Austria (section)

==== Politics and governance ====

===== Liberalism in Cisleithania 1867–1879 =====
{{See also|Liberalism in Austria}}
Political parties became legitimate entities in Austria from 1848, apart from a brief lapse in the 1850s. However the structure of the legislative body created by the 1861 February Patent provided little scope for party organisation. Initial political organisation resembled the cleavages in Austrian culture. Since the time of the [[Counter-Reformation]] the [[Catholic Church]] had assumed a major role in the political life of the empire, in conjunction with the aristocracy and conservative rural elements. Allied against these forces were a more secular urban middle class, reflecting the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and the [[French Revolution]] with its anti-clericism ''([[Kulturkampf]])''. Other elements on the left were German nationalism, defending [[German question|Greater German]] interests against the [[Slavs]], and found support among urban intelligentsia. However party structure was far from cohesive and both groupings contained factions which either supported or opposed the government of the day. These parties reflected the traditional right/left split of political vision. The left, or [[Liberalism in Austria|Liberal]] factions were known as the [[Constitutional Party (Austria)|Constitutional Party]], but both left and right were fragmented into factions. Without direct elections there was no place for constituency organisation, and affinities were intellectual not organisational. Nor, without ministerial responsibility, was there a need for such organisation. The affinities were driven by respective visions of the representative institutions. The left derived its name from its support in principle of the 1861–1867 constitution and were the driving elements of the 1848 revolution, the right supported historic rights. The left drew its support from the propertied bourgeoisie (''Besitzbürgertum''), affluent professionals and the civil service. These were longstanding ideological differences.{{Sfn|Pulzer|1969}} The 1867 elections saw the Liberals take control of the lower house under [[Prince Karl of Auersperg|Karl Auersperg]] (1867–1868) and were instrumental in the adoption of the 1867 constitution and in abrogating the 1855 [[Concordat]] (1870).

Suffrage progressively improved during the period 1860–1882. The selection of deputies to the ''Reichsrat'' by provincial legislatures proved unworkable particularly once the [[Bohemia]]n diet effectively boycotted the Reichsrat in an attempt to acquire equal status with the Hungarians in a tripartite monarchy. As a result, suffrage was changed to direct election to the ''Reichsrat'' in 1873.

Even then by 1873 only six percent of the adult male population were franchised (Hacohen 2002). The initial divisions into Catholic, [[Classical liberalism|liberal]], [[Nationalism|national]], [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] and [[Agrarianism|agrarian]] parties differed across ethnic grounds further fragmenting the political culture. However, there was now emerging the presence of extra-parliamentary parties whereas previously parties were purely intra-parliamentary. This provided an opportunity for the disenfranchised to find a voice. These changes were taking place against a rapidly changing backdrop of an Austrian economy that was modernising and industrialising and economic crises such as [[Panic of 1873|that of 1873]] and its resultant [[Long Depression|depression]] (1873–1879), and the traditional parties were slow to respond to the demands of the populace. By the election of 1901, the last election under the defined classes of franchisement extraparliamentary parties won 76 of the 118 seats.

This era saw anti-liberal sentiments and declining fortunes of the Liberal party which had held power since 1867 apart from a brief spell of conservative government in 1870–71. In 1870 Liberal support for Prussia in the 1870 [[Franco-Prussian War]] displeased the Emperor and he turned to the Conservatives to form a government under [[Count Karl Sigmund von Hohenwart]] (1871). Hohenwart was the conservative leader in parliament, and the Emperor believed his more sympathetic views to Slavic aspirations and federalism would weaken the Austro-German Liberals. Hohenwart appointed [[Albert Schäffle]] as his commerce minister and drew up a policy known as the [[Fundamental Articles of 1871]]. The policy failed, the Emperor withdrew his support and the Liberals regained power.

The Liberal party became progressively unliberal and more nationalistic, and against whose social conservatism the progressive intellectuals would rebel (Hacohen 2002). During their 1870–71 opposition they blocked attempts to extend the dual monarchy to a tripartite monarchy including the Czechs, and promoted the concept of ''Deutschtum'' (the granting of all rights of citizenship to those who displayed the characteristics of the solid German ''Bürger''). They also opposed the extension of suffrage because restricted suffrage favoured their electoral base (Hacohen 2002). In 1873 the party fragmented, with a radical faction of the Constitutional Party forming the Progressive Club, while a right-wing faction formed the conservative Constitutionalist Landlordism leaving a rump of 'Old Liberals'. The result was a proliferation of German Liberal and [[German nationalism in Austria|German National]] groups.

===== Political realignment 1879 =====
While Liberal achievements had included economic modernisation, expanding secular education and rebuilding the fabric and culture of Vienna, while collaborating with the Administration ''(Verwaltung)'', after 1873 a progressive series of schisms and mergers continued to weaken the party which effectively disappeared by 1911.

The Liberal cabinet of [[Prince Adolf of Auersperg|Adolf Auersperg]] (1871–1879) was dismissed in 1879 over its opposition to [[Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary|Foreign Minister]] [[Gyula Andrássy]]'s (1871–1879) Balkan policy and the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which added more Slavs and further diluted German nationalism and identity. In the ensuing elections the [[Liberalism in Austria|Liberals]] lost control of parliament and went into opposition, the incoming government under [[Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe|Count Edward Taaffe]] (1879–1893) basically consisting of a group of factions (farmers, clergy and Czechs), the "Iron Ring", united in a determination to keep the Liberals out of power.

Andrássy, who had nothing in common with Taaffe, tended his resignation on the grounds of poor health and to his surprise it was accepted. His name was raised again when the new Foreign minister, [[Baron Heinrich Karl von Haymerle|Haymerle]] died in office in 1881, but Taaffe and his coalition had no time for a Liberal foreign minister (let alone a Hungarian and [[Freemason]]), and he was passed over in favour of [[Count Gustav Kálnoky]] (1881–1895).{{Sfn|Hamann|2012|pp=326–327}}

However the Liberal opposition [[filibustered]] leading the government to seek electoral reform as a strategy to weaken their position, which was enacted in 1882. Despite this, the coalition, nominally conservative and committed to anti-socialism passed a series of social reforms over the decade 1880–1890, following the examples of Germany and Switzerland. These were reforms which the Liberals had been unable to get past a government strongly tied to the concept of individual's rights to self-determination free from government interference{{Sfn|Grandner|1994}} Such measures had the support of both the Liberals, now the United Left (''Vereinigte Linke'' 1881) and the German National Party (''Deutsche Nationalpartei'' 1891), an offshoot of the [[German nationalism in Austria|German National Movement]]. The electoral reforms of 1882 were the most influential in that it enfranchised proportionally more Germans.

Social reform now moved to become a platform of conservative Catholics like [[Prince Aloys Franz de Paula Maria|Prince Aloys de Paula Maria of Liechtenstein]], [[Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang|Baron Karl von Vogelsang]], and Count Egbert Belcredi{{Sfn|Boyer|1995}} The era of electoral reform saw the emergence of [[Georg von Schonerer]]'s [[Linz Program of 1882|Pan-German League]] (1882), appealing to an anti-clerical middle class, and Catholic social reformers such as L. Psenner and A. Latschka created the Christian Social Association (''Christlich-Sozialer Verein'') (1887). Around the same time F. Piffl, F. Stauracz, Ae. Schoepfer, A. Opitz, [[Karl Lueger]] and Prince Aloys Liechtenstein formed the United Christians to advocate Christian social reform.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Christlichsoziale Bewegung |url=https://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/Christlichsoziale_Bewegung |website=Austria-Forum}}</ref> These two organisations merged in 1891 under Karl Lueger to form the [[Christian Social Party (Austria)|Christian Social Party]] (''Christlichsoziale Partei'', CS).

However the Taaffe government's policy of ethnic inclusiveness fuelled nationalism among the German-speaking population. The Liberals had maintained the strong centralism of the absolutist era (with the exception of [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] in 1867) while the Conservatives attempted a more federalist state that ultimately led to the fall of the Taaffe government in 1893, including a second attempt at Bohemian ''Ausgleich'' (Tripartite monarchy) in 1890{{Sfn|Grandner|1994}}<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Hugo |last=Hantsch |title=Die Nationalitaetenfrage im alten Oesterreich. Das Problem der konstruktiven Reichsgestaltung |lang=de |journal=Wiener Historische Studien |volume=1 |location=Vienna |date=1953}}</ref>

On the left the spread of anarchical ideas and oppressive government saw the emergence of a Marxist [[Social Democratic Party of Austria|Social Democratic Party]] (''Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs'', SDAPÖ) in 1889 which succeeded in winning seats in the 1897 elections which followed further extension of suffrage in 1896 to include peasants and the working classes, establishing universal male suffrage, though not equal.

===== Direct and equal suffrage for the Reichsrat (1907) =====
[[File:2007 Austria 5 Euro 100 Years Universal Male Suffrage back.jpg|150px|left|thumb|[[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Austria)#2007 coinage|2007 Austrian coin depicting 100 Years of Universal Male Suffrage]], showing Parliament in 1907]]
The [[1907 Cisleithanian legislative election|universal male suffrage introduced in 1907]] by Minister-President [[Max Wladimir von Beck|Freiherr von Beck]] changed the balance of power, formally tilted towards German Austrians, and revealed that they were now a minority in a predominantly Slavic empire. In the 1900 census, Germans were 36% of the Cisleithanian population but the largest single group, but never acted as a cohesive group (nor did any other national group), although they were the dominant group in the political life of the monarchy. Germans were followed by Czechs and Slovaks (23%), Poles (17), Ruthenians (13), Slovenes (5), Serbo-Croats (3), Italians (3) and Romanians 1%. However these national groups, especially the Germans were often scattered geographically. The Germans also dominated economically, and in level of education.[[File:Austria Hungary ethnic.svg|thumb|Ethnic groups of Austria-Hungary in 1910]] The post reform 1907 parliament (''[[Reichsrat (Austria)|Reichsrat]]'') was elected along national lines, with only the Christian-Social and Social Democrat parties predominantly German. However Austria was governed by the Emperor who appointed the Imperial Council of Ministers, who in turn answered to him, parliament being left free to criticise government policy. Technically it had the power to legislate from 1907, but in practice the Imperial government generated its own legislation, and the Emperor could veto his own minister's bills. The major parties were divided geographically and socially, with the social democrats base being the towns, predominantly Vienna, and having a very different perspective to the devout but illiterate peasantry in the countryside. The latter were joined by the aristocracy and bourgeoisie in supporting the ''status quo'' of the monarchy.

The [[1911 Cisleithanian legislative election|1911 elections]] elected a parliament that would carry Austria through the war and the end of the empire in 1918.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Cambridge Modern History |url=http://histories.cambridge.org/collection?id=set_new_cambridge_modern_history |series=Cambridge Histories Online |page=476 |volume=XII: The Shifting Balance of World Forces 1898–1945| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114152441/http://histories.cambridge.org/collection?id=set_new_cambridge_modern_history | archive-date=14 January 2013 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Pech|1989}}
However, the effectiveness of parliamentarism was hampered by conflicts between parties representing different ethnic groups, and meetings of the parliament ceased altogether during [[World War I]].