1975 Austrian legislative election

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1975 Austrian legislative election

← 1971 5 October 1975 1979 →

183 seats in the National Council of Austria
92 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Bruno Kreisky Josef Taus Friedrich Peter
Party SPÖ ÖVP FPÖ
Last election 50.04%, 93 seats 43.11%, 80 seats 6.29%, 10 seats
Seats won 93 80 10
Seat change Steady Steady Steady
Popular vote 2,326,201 1,981,291 249,444
Percentage 50.42% 42.95% 5.41%
Swing Increase0.38pp Decrease0.16pp Decrease0.88pp

Results of the election, showing seats won by state and nationwide. States are shaded according to the first-place party.

Chancellor before election

Bruno Kreisky
SPÖ

Elected Chancellor

Bruno Kreisky
SPÖ

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

Results[edit]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Socialist Party of Austria2,326,20150.42930
Austrian People's Party1,981,29142.95800
Freedom Party of Austria249,4445.41100
Communist Party of Austria55,0321.1900
Group of Revolutionary Marxists1,0240.020New
Steinacher Franz List4400.010New
Total4,613,432100.001830
Valid votes4,613,43298.94
Invalid/blank votes49,2521.06
Total votes4,662,684100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,019,27792.90
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Aftermath[edit]

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 commenced its work on October 28, 1975.

Following the National Council election, 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 FPÖ leader Friedrich Peter. This report revealed that Peter had served as an Obersturmbannführer in an SS unit associated with mass murders. Chancellor Kreisky, himself a victim of the Nazi regime, however, defended Friedrich Peter, accused Simon 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 federal party chairman. His successor was the Mayor of Graz, Alexander Götz.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p196 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p215