Editing History of Austria (section)

===== 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.