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The Communist Party of Austria (german: Kommunistische Partei Österreichs, KPÖ) is a
communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Established in 1918 as the Communist Party of German-Austria (KPDÖ), it is one of the world's oldest
communist parties A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
. The KPÖ was banned between 1933 and 1945 under both the Austrofascist regime and the
Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
administration of Austria after the 1938 ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
''. It played an important role in the Austrian resistance against the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
. The party currently holds two seats in the Styrian ''Landtag'' (
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
parliament), but has not had representation in the National Council (''Nationalrat'', Austria's federal parliament) since 1959. In the legislative election held on 29 September 2019, it won only 0.7% of the votes (32,736 out of a total of 4,835,469), well below the 4% minimum to obtain seats in the National Council. At the local level, the KPÖ has held the mayorship of Graz, Austria's second largest city, since 2021, and holds over 130 seats on district and municipal councils across the country. It is part of the New European Left Forum (NELF) and the
Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), commonly abbreviated European Left, is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. ...
.


History


Background and establishment

The KPÖ was officially established on the 3 November 1918. Due to the Allies' sea blockade during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, there was a supply shortage in Austria, resulting in workers protests. Such actions included strikes such as the 1918 " Jännerstreik". In 1917, concurrent with the
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
, the left wing of the workers' movement established the KPÖ.
Ruth Fischer Ruth Fischer (11 December 1895 – 13 March 1961) was an Austrian and German Communist, and a co-founder of the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ) in 1918. Along with her partner Arkadi Maslow, she led the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) through ...
,
Karl Steinhardt Karl Steinhardt (1 August 1875, Gyöngyös  — 21 January 1963, Vienna) was an Austrian politician and activist who was one of the founders and leaders of the Communist Party of Austria. Biography Born in Gyöngyös in the Austro-Hungaria ...
, Franz Koritschoner, and Lucien Laurat were among the co-founders. Attempts to establish a '' Räterepublik'' (soviet republic) in Austria resulted in developments different from those in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
or Russia, as the ''Räte'' were only able to establish themselves in isolated, high-population density areas such as
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and the industrial areas of
Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...
. However, a "Red Guard" (''Rote Garde'') was formed and soon integrated with the '' Volkswehr'' (People's Resistance Army). On 12 November 1918, the party attempted a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
, which was not professionally organised and not authorised by the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
government. Within hours, the coup attempt was defeated.


First Republic, Second World War, and resistance to Nazism

During the First Republic, the KPÖ had little influence and failed to gain a single mandate in parliament, in part because of the ability of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) to unite the workers as an
opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
movement. The party was also seriously weakened by internal factional struggles. In parallel with the ascent of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
to General Secretary in the Soviet Union in the early 1920s, the KPÖ was also refashioned in accordance with the principles of democratic centralism, and party discipline was more strictly enforced. Due to these reforms, the party was able to overcome its factional struggles by the late-1920s. In 1933 the KPÖ was banned by an emergency decree of the Austrofascist government of
Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...
but continued to operate underground. According to internal sources, the KPÖ had been prepared for this situation since the mid-1920s. After the Social Democratic Party was also banned, many former SPÖ supporters and functionaries, such as Ernst Fischer and Christian Broda, worked underground in cooperation with the KPÖ. The KPÖ took part in the failed workers rebellion on 12 February 1934, which was sparked by the militia '' Republikanischer Schutzbund'' ( en, Republican Defense League). It marked a last attempt to save Austrian democracy from fascism, but was ill-fated. The KPÖ held a line which was often in disagreement with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, such as disagreeing with Stalin's branding of
social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...
as a form of "social fascism" in the late 1920s. The Austrian communists dissent was avant-garde, with their refusal to condemn Social Democracy reflecting aspects of the 7th World Congress of the Comintern in 1935. The Austrian communists' tolerant stance opened their party to an influx of more disappointed Social Democrats. After the crushing of the February 1934 uprising by the federal army and the ''
Heimwehr The Heimwehr (, ) or Heimatschutz (, ) was a nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating in Austria during the 1920s and 1930s that was similar in methods, organization, and ideology to the Freikorps in Germany. It was opposed to parliam ...
'', the KPÖ grew rapidly from 4,000 to 16,000 members. The KPÖ also took an independent stance from the mainstream in its views about nationhood and an Austrian identity separate from Germany, with leading communist intellectual Alfred Klahr writing that the view that the Austrian people were a part of Germany was theoretically unfounded. In contrast, many Austrian Social Democrats regarded the affiliation to the German nation as natural and even desirable. Echoing the thoughts of Klahr, the KPÖ expressed its firm belief in an independent Austria when the country was annexed to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in March 1938. In their historic call ''An das österreichische Volk'' ( en, To the Austrian People), the party denounced
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's dictatorship and called on all people to fight together for an independent Austria. As a result of the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...
of 1939, a number of Austrian communists-in-exile, such as KPÖ founder member Franz Koritschoner, were deported from the Soviet Union and handed over to the Nazis. After war broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union, the Soviets quickly reverted their stance and tried to support the Austrian Communists against Nazi Germany. During Nazi rule, the KPÖ played an important role in the Austrian resistance, fighting side by side with former political enemies such as Christian socialists, Catholics,
Monarchists Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
, and farmers against Hitler's regime. The KPÖ took seriously the order of the Allied Powers in the
Moscow Declaration The Moscow Declarations were four declarations signed during the Moscow Conference on October 30, 1943. The declarations are distinct from the Communique that was issued following the Moscow Conference of 1945. They were signed by the foreign sec ...
from October 1943, which called for Austria's "own contribution" to its liberation from fascism as a precondition for the resurrection of their own state. More than 4,000 communists were imprisoned or sent to concentration camps and more than 2,000 lost their lives during the resistance, including 13 members of the KPÖ's central committee. There was also an Austrian communist resistance network in Belgium, the '' Österreichische Freiheitsfront'' ( en, Austrian Freedom Front). There is some disagreement amongst historians if the KPÖ fought the Nazis out of patriotism, or followed the pattern of the ideological fight of communism against fascism in general. Internal party documents show the truth as somewhere in the middle; the KPÖ wanted their country free from German occupation as much as they wanted it to become communist.


Second Republic

After Austria regained its independence from Germany, the KPÖ reached national importance, as it was, for the most part, able to count on the support of the occupying Soviet authorities. In the first provisional government under
Karl Renner Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republic" because he led the first government of German ...
, the KPÖ was represented by seven members, along with ten socialists, and nine Christian socialists. Party chairman Johann Koplenig became vice-chancellor, while fellow communists Franz Honner and Ernst Fischer were made ministers responsible for home affairs and education respectively. However, Renner outflanked the Communists by having two powerful undersecretaries in each ministry, to which were appointed anticommunists. During the years of national reconstruction, the KPÖ vehemently criticised the "capitalistic reconstruction at the expense of the working class" and totally rejected the
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
. The KPÖ assured the Soviets that they could win as much as 30% of the vote in the first National Council elections in 1945. However, the KPÖ won only 5.4% of the votes (174,257 votes) and was thus represented with only 4 members (out of 165) in the Austrian parliament. Nevertheless, chancellor
Leopold Figl Leopold Figl (2 October 1902 – 9 May 1965) was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (Christian Democrats) and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II. He was also the youngest Federal Chancellor of Austria after the w ...
(of the right-wing
ÖVP The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...
) offered the party a ministerial position in the government, and communist Karl Altmann was made Minister for Energy. With the beginning of the Cold War, and the continuing arguments over the Marshall Plan, Altmann resigned from his office in 1947 and the KPÖ became an opposition party.


General strikes of 1950

Post-war, the national economy was in ruins, and the ÖVP-led government instituted a severe austerity programme. The planned measures (''Viertes Lohn- und Preisabkommen'', en, Fourth wage and price-fixing agreement) included substantial price increases but minor wage increases,Williams, Warren (2007).
Flashpoint Austria: The Communist-Inspired Strikes of 1950
' (paid access).
Journal of Cold War Studies The ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal on the history of the Cold War. It was established in 1999 and is published by MIT Press for the Harvard Project on Cold War Studies. The journal is issued also un ...
. Summer 2007, Vol. 9, No. 3, Pages 115-136. Published by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
.
and large-scale strike movements formed in protest from 26 September to 6 October 1950. This, the largest strike action in the post-war history of Austria, started in the Steyr and Voest factories and the nitrogen plants in the American zone of occupation, and by 10:00 a.m. the number of strikers reached 15,000. Over 120,000 workers participated in the first day of the strike. However, the interruption of the strike to legitimize it with a conference of all Austrian work councils took the momentum out of the movement and in the second phase the concentration of strikes shifted to the Soviet zone of occupation. In the morning of Wednesday 27 September, thousands of pro-communist strike workers took control over
ÖGB The Austrian Trade Union Federation or Austrian Federation of Trade Unions ( de: ''Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund'', abbreviated OeGB or ÖGB) is a labour union of employees. It is constituted as an association and is subdivided into seven ...
regional headquarters in Linz and Graz with their communication infrastructure. Again, the police stayed aside but the Socialists in Vienna scrambled all their resources to weaken the communist influence. By the end of the day police and paramilitary units forced the Communists out of ÖGB buildings in British and American zones. On 28 September, the communists raised seventy volunteers to storm the national ÖGB office in Vienna, and were routed by the police. By 7 p.m. on 27 September, even the Soviets agreed that the strike failed and their radio program instructed Austrian workers to return to work. The ÖGB rejected the strike. The KPÖ took a prominent role in this strike, leading politicians of the incumbent grand coalition to fear a coup d'état, with the goal of the installation of a
people's republic People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...
. The KPÖ denied these allegations. A second series of strikes began the following week, in Vienna and Lower Austria, and involved approximately 19% of industrial workforce.Bader, William B. (1966).
Austria Between East and West
' (p. 177.) Stanford University Press. .
The strikers made the impact worse by disrupting railroad traffic. They stormed the Stadlau station in
Donaustadt Donaustadt (; literally, Danube City; Central Bavarian: ''Donaustod'') is the 22nd district of Vienna, Austria (german: 22. Bezirk, Donaustadt). Donaustadt is the eastern district of Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpage statistik.at-23450. ...
three times, were forced away three times, and then blocked the tracks until the evening. On 5 October, they resumed the blockade of Stadlau from 5 a.m., took control of the Nordbahnhof and threatened the Südbahnhof. With the police disabled, railroads were defended by their employees and the volunteers of the " Olah battalion". They were armed with clubs, operated in small teams, and engaged the Communists in hand-to-hand fighting at first opportunity. There were reports that the Soviets provided trucks to move communist crews around, but this was as far as the Soviets went in supporting the strike. On 5 October, the chairman of the Building and Wood workers Trade Union, Franz Olah, succeeded in negotiating the dissolution of the October strikes. Olah organised workers who supported the SPÖ into clashes with the communists, where they were able to outnumber and defeat them. This caused great friction between the KPÖ and many SPÖ members. The fact that the Soviet
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
did not interfere also brought the strikes to an end.


Weaknesses and crises

During the 10-year allied occupation from 1945 to 1955, the threat of national division similar to that which befell post-war Germany loomed large. The Iron Curtain was dividing the European continent into two halves. During this period, the KPÖ was in constant contact with the Soviet authorities and Moscow.Mueller, Werner (2005). ''Sowjetische Politik in Österreich 1945-1955''. Published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (''Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften''). Following the party's poor results in the parliamentary elections on 25 November 1945 ( St. Catherine's Day, therefore the elections became known as the ''Katharinen-Wahl''), the KPÖ representative in Moscow, Friedrich Hexmann, had to present a report to the Politburo with proposals on how to improve the situation for the party. The problem with the strategy of the communists was identified as being their goal to build a future coalition (''Volksfront'') with the SPÖ. This required a right-wing shift to the extent that ideological differences between the KPÖ and the SPÖ were not readily apparent. The closeness of the KPÖ to Moscow also made many voters wary of the party and its aims. In the former territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, multiparty democratic systems were slowly but surely being penetrated and undermined by local pro-Soviet communist parties with the covert or even overt support of the Soviets, as was observable in
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. As the Iron Curtain was being drawn closed, Austrians feared the same fate as their neighbours. Talks between party leader Johann Koplenig and Stalin (''Sondermappe'' Codename: Gen. ) resulted in proposals of a possible division of Austria between East and West, similar to Germany. Since the KPÖ was constantly losing votes in parliamentary elections, a division and establishment of a communist-led East Austria would have been a practical way to consolidate at least a part of their dwindling power. The Soviet authorities in Moscow showed little interest for such a division for various reasons, namely because the size of a newly established East Austria would have been quite small and may not have been capable of existing without significant Soviet assistance. Already, the situation in the Soviet sector of Austria was difficult as the Soviets confiscated all industries, factories, and goods and transported anything of economic value back to the Soviet Union as part of war-reparations. Strategically, a division of Austria would have ultimately meant that a West Austria, closely linked to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, would have provided a connection between West Germany and Italy. A united, neutral Austria however could act as a barrier, together with Switzerland, thereby securing a part of the Central European front for the Soviets. The proposals by the Austrian communists were therefore brushed aside. Moscow wanted a guarantee of neutrality as a pre-condition for the release of Austria into independence; the country would not be allowed to join either side of the Iron Curtain. As negotiations were underway, the KPÖ changed its tactics. The KPÖ swerved to Moscow's stance and supported the idea of neutrality during the negotiations of the
Austrian State Treaty The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying p ...
. Many members of other parties, such as Leopold Figl, did not want neutrality, but a firm anchoring with the West and NATO. However, the Soviets were able to push this demand through. The
Austrian State Treaty The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying p ...
was voted upon on 15 May 1955, with the declaration of neutrality proclaimed on 26 October 1955. This was decided in the National Council with the votes of the ÖVP, SPÖ, and the KPÖ; the
Federation of Independents The Federation of Independents (german: Verband der Unabhängigen, VdU) was a German nationalist and national-liberal political party in Austria active from 1949 to 1955. It was the predecessor of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). Formation Th ...
(VdU, the forerunner of the FPÖ) voted against neutrality. Because of the economic recovery and the end of the occupation in 1955, the protective power of the Soviet occupiers was lost to the KPÖ. The party lost a main pillar of support and was shaken by internal crisis. Like many other communist parties around the world, the KPÖ had oriented itself towards Marxism-Leninism of the Stalinist brand, and has closely allied itself at this point with the line of the Soviet Communist Party. The party's failure to condemn the bloody suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising led to a wave of withdrawals from the party. On 10 May 1959, the KPÖ lost representation in the National Council, receiving 142,578 votes, 3.3% of the total tally and thus missing the 4%
election threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
to receive seats. The invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops in 1968 during the Prague Spring was at first condemned by the KPÖ. However, in 1971 the party revised its position and swung back to the Soviet line. A critic of these developments, the former KPÖ Minister of Education, Ernst Fischer (who branded it "tank communism") was expelled from the party, and readmitted only in 1998. Due to a continuing fall in support in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the party flirted briefly with a rightward move towards
eurocommunism Eurocommunism, also referred to as democratic communism or neocommunism, was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more rel ...
and democratic socialism.Paula Sutter Fichtner (2009). ''Historical Dictionary of Austria'', pages 70-71. Published by Scarecrow Press. This, in turn, provoked the protest of the party's core supporters, who saw little difference to social democracy, and feared a weakening of the communist cause. Following the reforms, more than one third of the party's members left. The leadership of the KPÖ eventually backtracked from these changes, and the party restored the connections to the CPSU. Having previously had 150,000 members directly following World War II, the party's ranks shrank to approximately 35,000 in the 1960s and to a few thousands in the 1970s. As of 2005, membership stands at about 3,500 members. The KPÖ was represented in the National Council from 1945 until 1959, in the state assemblies (''
Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non ...
e'') (with some interruptions) of
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
until 1949, in
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
until 1954, in the
Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...
until 1956, in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
until 1969 and in Carinthia as well as Styria until 1970. In
Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...
, the
Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
and
Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
the KPÖ never held state representation.


After the fall of the Socialist Bloc

With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the KPÖ saw itself confronted with new challenges regarding its philosophy and future. The experiment with a moderate form of eurocommunism was not well received with its core supporters; however, moderate voters could not be persuaded either. The KPÖ faced difficult times during a period where communist parties throughout the world were receding. In January 1990 two new leaders, Walter Silbermayr and
Susanne Sohn Susanne may refer to: * Susanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) *, later USS ''SP-411'', a United States Navy patrol boat in commission from 1917 to 1919 *, the proposed name and designation for a ves ...
, were appointed to renew the party and uncover errors and mistakes which were made in the past. The attempts by Sohn and Silbermayr to create a leftist alliance (''Wahlbündnis'') for the 1990 National Council elections failed. The party lost about a third of its members during the process. In March 1991, only three months later, both chairpersons resigned, with their course of renewal being insufficiently supported internally by party-members. The party has consistently been critical of the
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, comparing Austria's accession to the EU in 1995 to the '' Anschluß'' by Nazi-Germany. The party campaigned against the European Constitution in its planned form; however, it does not regard leaving the European Union as an immediate priority, but as a long-term goal. Until 2003, there was an official celebration on the Jesuitenwiese in the Vienna
Prater The Prater () is a large public park in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria. The Wurstelprater, an amusement park that is often simply called "Prater", lies in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel. Name The ...
park, normally held each year in the first weekend of September. The celebration was named ''Volksstimmefest'', after the party's former newspaper. Due to financial reasons, the festival was unable to take place in 2004. It has, however, since staged a comeback, being held again in September 2005 and all years since. Today, the KPÖ sees itself as part of the
anti-globalisation The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalis ...
movement as well as a feminist party. It ran together with LINKE Liste, during the European elections 2004 as part of the
Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), commonly abbreviated European Left, is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. ...
.


Financial situation

After the collapse of the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...
in 1989, there were long court-proceedings for many years concerning the considerable net assets of the company ''Novum''. Although the company was an East German one, it was used to siphon money and finance the KPÖ, see also Rudolfine Steindling for further details. The company used to be able to make large amounts of money through GDR foreign trade and the protection of the East German Socialist Unity Party (SED), with the profits used almost exclusively to support the KPÖ. As the successor state, the
Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
laid claim to all the finances of Novum, which was hotly contested by the KPÖ. The German courts decided in 2002, that the former SED-company belonged to the state-assets of the GDR, hence to its successor state the unified Germany. Therefore, these net assets of the KPÖ were confiscated. Due to the court decision over the Novum holding, the party lost over 250 million
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s of its financial assets. The party saw no alternative but to fire all its employees and stop the production of its weekly newspaper ''Volksstimme'' ("Voice of the people", later restarted as Volksstimmen.) The continuing existence of the party depends largely on volunteer work of dedicated communists and sympathisers. Because of the financial problems, the party had to sell the so-called Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus (EKH), which was occupied by the so-called '' Autonome'' (autonomous) activists since 1990. The sale led to substantial criticism from leftists within and outside Austria, being condemned as "capitalistic". Critics accused the KPÖ of not having exhausted all possibilities to avoid the sale. The accusation that the private buyer was a right-wing extremist could, however, not be substantiated. In January 2005 there were several acts of vandalism against cars and private dwellings of KPÖ functionaries as well as the house of the KPÖ chairman. According to media reports the perpetrators outed themselves through the graffiti as EKH sympathisers. The KPÖ defended itself by arguing it had no possible financial means to keep the house. Previously in 2003 the party tried to convince the city of Vienna to buy the building to save it from privatisation; however, city authorities did not respond.


Internal party conflict

Beginning in 1994 a conflict between the party leadership revolving around chairman Walter Baier and different internal oppositional groups, who had gathered themselves mainly around the newspaper nVs (''neue Volksstimme'', en, new Voice of the people) and the internet platform Kominform. Internal party critics accused Walter Baier of revisionism and betrayal of
Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...
; he in turn accused them of Stalinist tendencies. This conflict escalated in 2004, when at a party convention it was decided to enter the
Party of the European Left The Party of the European Left (PEL), commonly abbreviated European Left, is a European political party that operates as an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. ...
. In the elections to the
European parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
the KPÖ ran in a largely self-financed alliance ("''Wahlbündnis LINKS''") with
Leo Gabriel Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts ...
as the leading candidate. In an interview with the magazine
profil Profil may refer to: *La Mouette Profil, a French hang glider design *Profil (band), a French musical group *''Profil (literary magazine)'', a Norwegian literary magazine *''profil (magazine)'', an Austrian news magazine * ''Profil (Russian magaz ...
, he spoke out against socialism, saying "I want a Europe of solidarity, not a socialist Europe", which sparked furious criticism from the internal party opposition. A further point of contention for the opposition was that the party, in the course of its entry to the European Left Party, had to drop its previous demand of an Austrian withdrawal from the European Union. Many party organisations therefore boycotted the election campaign. The election result of 0.77% (20,497 votes) was disappointing and meant a drop of 1,466 votes compared to the election results of 1999. The pressure on the party leadership to convene a party congress rose and as a consequence the leadership, which consisted of Walter Baier and two further members, called up the 33rd Party Congress of the KPÖ for the 11 December and 12 December 2004, as a delegation party congress in Linz- Ebelsberg. With this summoning the leadership ignored a resolution of the
32nd Party Congress 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
(which was held as an "all-members" party congress, not by delegates), which stated that the following 33rd Party Congress would again be held as an "all-member" party congress, somewhere outside Vienna. Since the Party Congress is, according to party statute, the highest committee of the KPÖ, the opposition saw a breach of the statute and called upon the arbitration commission of the party, which is the internal authority in such cases. The arbitration commission decided, however, that no formal breach of the statute was recognisable since, according to statute, the Party Congress cannot decide on the form of a future convening party congress. Some members of the KPÖ branch in Ottakring ( Ottakring is a traditional low income worker's district in Vienna) tried to convene an all-members party congress of their own, justifying their actions on the statute of the party. This attempt was called off quickly due to threats of legal action from Baier. The delegates Party Congress convened and took place on 4 December and 5 December 2004, with 76 delegates meeting in Ebelsberg. The Party Congress was boycotted by the internal party opposition as well as the KPÖ regional branch in Tyrol, Graz, and Styria. The agenda of the 33rd Party Congress were the rejection of the European constitution and the European Union services guideline, the defence of public property from privatisation, as well as how to celebrate the Austrian jubilee year 2005 (60 years since the end of World War II, 50 years of independence as the Second Republic, 10 years as a member of the European Union). Walter Baier was re-elected without opposition with 89.4% of the votes. Among other things, the party statute was also changed. Because of the internal conflict, several members of the opposition were expelled from the party. Some critics accused the leadership of undemocratic procedures, and withdrew from the party voluntarily. The relationship to the Communist Youth of Austria - Young Left (KJÖ) was also tense, because of attempts made by the leadership to develop a new youth organisation. In March 2006 Walter Baier resigned from the presidency of the party for personal and political reasons. He was replaced by Mirko Messner, a Carinthian Slovene and longtime party-activist, and
Melina Klaus Melina may refer to: * Melina (name), including a list of people with the name *"Melina", a No.1 hit song by Camilo Sesto 1975 *"Melina", a song by Tapani Kansa * Melina, Dobretići, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Malina (The Emperor's New ...
later that month.


Revival and reentrance to Styrian Landtag

In the 21st century, the party has seen a revival, particularly in the state of Styria. In the election to the Styrian ''Landtag'' (state parliament) on 2 October 2005 the KPÖ, with leading candidate Ernest Kaltenegger, were able to win 4 seats (6.34% of the votes.) This was their first return in the Styrian Landtag (or any state parliament) since 1970. The party retained representation in this body since then. In the Styrian capital, Graz, the KPÖ developed into a successful local party (20.75% in the 2005 local council elections). This success was largely attributed to the leadership of popular town councillor Ernest Kaltenegger who raised the profile of housing as a political issue. The party secured a seat on the city council in 1988, campaigning against rising rents, and the local party established practical support and advice services to assist tenants in dealing with landlords, inspired by a
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...
initiative. During the 1990s the KPÖ successfully campaigned for the passage of bill restricting rents in public housing to no more than a third of the tenant's income. At the following election in 1998 the party won four seats on the council and secured a seat on the city senate (the council's executive), which was taken by Kaltenegger, who was appointed to the city housing department: among other measures he was able to ensure that each public housing unit had its own toilet and bathroom. The KPÖ's vote in the next elections in 2003 increased to almost 20 percent. The following year it managed to block an initiative by the other parties on the council to privatise the city's housing stock by collecting over 10,000 signatures to trigger a referendum, in which 96 percent of voters opposed privatisation. Traditionally at the end of the year the leaders of the Graz KPÖ reveal their accounts. KPÖ councillors are required to earn the average industrial wage and donate the rest to social programmes in accordance with the basic rules of the KPÖ. The party retained this stronghold in
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and in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. In the 2021 elections the KPÖ emerged as the party with the most seats on the council, with 29 percent of the vote, and the party's Elke Kahr was subsequently elected mayor at the head of a coalition of the Communists, the Social Democrats and
the Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' *Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina *Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *Gree ...
.


Organization


Press

The party published a newspaper called '' Volksstimme'' ( en, People's Voice) between 1945 and 1991 and again since a few years. It also published a theoretical monthly journal called '' Weg und Ziel'' ( en, Path and Destination) until 2000. Another publication which was published by the party was a
Czech language Czech (; Czech ), historically also Bohemian (; ''lingua Bohemica'' in Latin), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 10 million people, it serves as the official language of the Czech R ...
newspaper based in Vienna, ''Průkopník svobody'' ('Pioneer of Freedom'). It appeared weekly between 1918 and 1926, and bi-weekly 1926–1929.Brousek, Karl M.
Wien und seine Tschechen: Integration und Assimilation einer Minderheit im 20. Jahrhundert
'. Schriftenreihe des Österreichischen Ost- und Südosteuropa-Instituts, Bd. 7. München: Oldenbourg, 1980. p. 51


Popular support and electoral results

The party's strongest branch is in Styria, the only
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
''Landtag'' where the party is represented, and their strongest state in national elections. Within Styria, the KPÖ is particularly strong in Graz, the Styrian capital and the second largest city in Austria, where the KPÖ outpolls the SPÖ and Grüne (20.75% in the 2005 local council elections). The party retained this stronghold in 2012. The KPÖ also retains support in their historical industrial strongholds in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
, and
Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...
. The KPÖ is strong with younger voters, doubling up their vote share to 1.47% in the 2005 Vienna state election after the voting age was lowered to 16. For the first time since 1991 the KPÖ had seats in the districts. On 23 October 2005, one mandate each was won in the districts of
Leopoldstadt Leopoldstadt (; bar, Leopoidstod, "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna (german: 2. Bezirk) in Austria. there are 103,233 inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Bri ...
and
Landstraße Landstraße (; Central Bavarian: ''Laundstrossn'') is the 3rd municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 3. Bezirk). It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with m ...
, although not in the state ''Landtag''. In the remaining 21 districts mandates were narrowly missed.


National Council (parliament)

Notes:


State Landtage (state parliaments)


Burgenland

Note: KPÖ has not contested Landtag elections in Burgenland since 1987.


Carinthia

Note: KPÖ did not contest the 1994 or 2013 Landtag elections in Carinthia.


Lower Austria


Salzburg

Note: KPÖ has not contested Landtag elections in Salzburg since 1989, but intends to compete in the 2013 election.


Styria


Tyrol

Note: KPÖ did not contest the 1965 or 1994 Landtag elections in Tyrol.


Upper Austria

Note: KPÖ did not contest the 1991 Landtag elections in Upper Austria.


Vienna


Vorarlberg

Note: KPÖ has not contested Landtag elections in Vorarlberg since 1989.


European Parliament

Notes:


Party chairpersons since 1945

The chart below shows a timeline of the communist chairpersons and the Chancellors of Austria. The left bar shows all the chairpersons (''Bundesparteivorsitzende'', abbreviated as "CP") of the KPÖ, and the right bar shows the corresponding make-up of the Austrian government at that time. The red ( Social Democratic Party) and black ( Austrian People's Party) colours correspond to which party led the federal government (''Bundesregierung'', abbreviated as "Govern."). The last names of the respective chancellors are shown, the Roman numeral stands for the cabinets. ImageSize = width:650 height:500 PlotArea = width:600 height:450 left:50 bottom:50 Legend = columns:3 left:50 top:25 columnwidth:50 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1945 till:2023 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:4 start:1945 # there is no automatic collision detection, # so shift texts up or down manually to avoid overlap Colors= id:KPÖ value:rgb(0.625,0,0) legend:KPÖ id:SPÖ value:red legend:SPÖ id:ÖVP value:gray(0.25) legend:ÖVP id:Independent value:gray(0.85) legend:Independent Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar Define $dy = -4 # adjust height PlotData= bar:CP color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:1945 till:1965 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text: Johann Koplenig (since 1927) from:1965 till:1990 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text: Franz Muhri from:1990 till:1991 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text: Walter Silbermayr,
Susanne Sohn Susanne may refer to: * Susanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) *, later USS ''SP-411'', a United States Navy patrol boat in commission from 1917 to 1919 *, the proposed name and designation for a ves ...
from:1991 till:1994 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text: Otto Bruckner, Margitta Kaltenegger, Julius Mende from:1994 till:2006 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text: Walter Baier from:2006 till:2012 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text:
Melina Klaus Melina may refer to: * Melina (name), including a list of people with the name *"Melina", a No.1 hit song by Camilo Sesto 1975 *"Melina", a song by Tapani Kansa * Melina, Dobretići, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Malina (The Emperor's New ...
, Mirko Messner from:2012 till:2021 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text: Mirko Messner from:2021 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text: Günther Hopfgartner bar:Govern. color:red width:26 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7 from:1945 till:1946 shift:($dx,-2) color:SPÖ text: Renner from:1946 till:1949 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Figl I from:1949 till:1952 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Figl II from:1952 till:1953 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Figl III from:1953 till:1956 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:
Raab Raab is a market town (''Marktgemeinde'') in the district of Schärding in Upper Austria in Austria. History The village historically belonged to the Duchy of Bavaria until the Treaty of Teschen transferred the area to Austria in 1780. During ...
I from:1956 till:1959 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Raab II from:1959 till:1960 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Raab III from:1960 till:1961 shift:($dx,-2) color:ÖVP text:Raab IV from:1961 till:1963 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Gorbach I from:1963 till:1964 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Gorbach II from:1964 till:1966 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:
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Kern KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...
from:2017 till:2019 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Kurz I from:2019 till:2019 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Löger from:2019 till:2020 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Independent text: Bierlein from:2020 till:2021 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Kurz II from:2021 till:2021 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Schallenberg from:2021 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text: Nehammer


Literature

* Autorenkollektiv: ''Die Kommunistische Partei Österreichs. Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte und Politik'' Globus-Verlag. Wien 1989 * Walter Baier und Franz Muhri: ''Stalin und wir'' Globus-Verlag, Wien 1991, * Heinz Gärtner: ''Zwischen Moskau und Österreich. Die KPÖ - Analyse einer sowjetabhängigen Partei. In: Studien zur österreichischen und internationalen Politik 3'' - : Braumüller, Wien 1979 * Helmut Konrad: ''KPÖ u. KSC zur Zeit des Hitler-Stalin-Paktes'' Europa-Verlag, Wien München Zürich 1978, (Veröffentlichung des Ludwig Boltzmann Inst. f. Geschichte d. Arbeiterbewegung) * Manfred Mugrauer: ''Die Politik der KPÖ in der Provisorischen Regierung Renner'' Studien-Verlag (erscheint im September 2006), * Wolfgang Mueller: ''Die sowjetische Besatzung in Österreich 1945-1955 und ihre politische Mission'' Boehlau Verlag, Wien 2005, * Wolfgang Mueller, A. Suppan, N. Naimark, G. Bordjugov (Ed.). ''Sowjetische Politik in Österreich 1945–1955: Dokumente aus russischen Archiven''


See also

* Elections in Austria * Communist Youth of Austria * Communist Workers Party (Austria)


References


External links


Official homepage of the KPÖ

Young Communists

Austrian Communist Youth

KPÖ Graz

Campaign for the Ernst-Kirchweger-House (EKH)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Communist Party Of Austria Political parties in Austria Establishments in the Republic of German-Austria 1918 establishments in Europe Political parties established in 1918 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties