Editing History of Austria (section)

===== 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]].