Communist Party of Austria
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2008-06-25T13:42:39Z
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{{Infobox_Austrian_Political_Party |
party_name = Kommunistische Partei Österreichs |
party_logo = [[Image:Logo-betke-yellow.PNG|170px|KPÖ logo]] |
party_articletitle = Communist Party of Austria|
leader = [[Melina Klaus]], [[Mirko Messner]] |
foundation = [[November 3]], [[1918]] |
ideology = [[Communism]], [[Eurocommunism]] |
position = [[left wing]]|
international = none |
european = [[Party of the European Left]] |
europarl = [[European United Left - Nordic Green Left]] |
colours = [[Red]]|
headquarters = Drechslergasse 42<br />A-1140 [[Vienna]] |
website = [http://www.kpoe.at http://www.kpoe.at]
}}
The '''Communist Party of Austria''' ([[German language|de]]: ''Kommunistische Partei Österreichs'', or '''KPÖ''') is a [[communist party]] based in [[Austria]]. Established in [[1918]], it was banned between [[1933]] and [[1945]] under German control of [[Austria]] during [[World War II]]. It played an important role in the Austrian resistance against the Nazis and [[fascism]].
The party publishes a newspaper called ''Volksstimmen'' (previously ''Volksstimme'') and stands in elections, however, it has not had representation in the federal parliament since [[1959]]. After losing its last representative in a state parliament, in [[Styria]] in [[1970]], it has become a fringe movement with limited political significance. At the [[National Council of Austria|National Council]] [[Austria legislative election, 2002|elections held on November 22, 2002]], it won only 0.56% of the votes (27,568 out of a total of 4,909,645), well below the 4% minimum to obtain seats in the National Council. However, it received an exceptional 20% of the vote in the [[2003]] [[Graz]] local elections, and in [[2005]] it returned to its first state parliament in 35 years after winning 6.3% of the vote in Styria.
It is part of the [[New European Left Forum]] (NELF) and the [[Party of the European Left]].
== Establishment ==
The KPÖ was officially established on the [[3 November]], [[1918]]. Due to the [[Allies]]' sea blockade during the [[First World War]], there was a supply shortage in Austria, resulting in workers protests. Such tactics included strikes such as the [[1918]] [["Jännerstreik"]]. Concurrent with the [[Russia]]n [[October Revolution]], the left wing of the workers' movement established the KPÖ.
Attempts to establish a ''[[Räterepublik]]'' (republican system of councillors) in Austria resulted in developments different to those in [[Germany]] or Russia, as the ''Räte'' were able to establish themselves in only isolated, high-population density areas such as [[Vienna]] and the industrial areas of [[Upper Austria]]. However, a "[[Red Guard]]" (''Rote Garde'') was formed and soon integrated with the ''[[Volkswehr]]'' (People's Resistance Army). On [[November 12]] [[1918]] there was an attempted [[coup d'état]], which was not professionally organised and not authorised by the [[Soviet]] government. Within hours, the coup was smashed.
== First Republic and National Socialism ==
During the First Republic, the KPÖ had little influence and failed to gain a single mandate in parliament, in part because of the [[SPÖ|Social Democrat]]'s ability to unite the workers as an [[Opposition (politics)|opposition]] movement. In parallel with the ascent of [[Stalin]] in the [[Soviet Union]] at the end of the 1920's, the KPÖ was also refashioned in an authoritarian direction.
In 1933 the KPÖ was banned by an emergency decree of the [[Austrofascism|Austrofascist]] government of [[Engelbert Dollfuß]] but continued to work underground. According to its own sources, the KPÖ had been prepared for this situation since the end of the 1920s. After the Social Democratic Party was also forbidden, many former SPÖ supporters and functionaries, such as [[Ernst Fischer]] and [[Christian Broda]], worked underground with the KPÖ.
The KPÖ took part in the workers rebellion of [[February 12]], [[1934]], which was sparked by the militia ''Republikanischer Schutzbund''. It marked the last attempt to save the democracy from fascism, but was ill fated.
Because the KPÖ had disagreed with Stalin’s branding of [[social democracy]] as a form of "social fascism" since the 1920s, the Austrian communists were the avantgarde in their dissent. Their refusal to condemn the Social Democrats reflected 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 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:
"The view that the Austrian people are a part of the German nation is theoretically unfounded. A union of the German nation, in which also the Austrians are included, never existed and does not exist today either. The Austrian people have lived under different economic and political conditions than the remaining Germans in the "Reich", and have therefore chosen another national development. How far this process of a national development is, and/or how close the connections from the common descent and common language are, only a concrete investigation of its history can answer that." (Note: free translation)
Original: ''"Die Auffassung, daß das österreichische Volk ein Teil der deutschen Nation ist, ist theoretisch unbegründet. Eine Einheit der deutschen Nation, in der auch die Österreicher miteinbezogen sind, hat es bisher nie gegeben und gibt es auch heute nicht. Das österreichische Volk hat unter anderen wirtschaftlichen und politischen Lebensbedingungen gelebt als die übrigen Deutschen im Reich und daher eine andere nationale Entwicklung genommen. Wie weit bei ihm der Prozeß der Herausbildung zu einer besonderen Nation fortgeschritten ist bzw. Wie eng noch die nationalen Bindungen aus der gemeinsamen Abstammung und gemeinsamen Sprache sind, kann nur eine konkrete Untersuchung seiner Geschichte ergeben."'' (Alfred Klahr, also known as "Rudolf"): ''Zur nationalen Frage in Österreich; in: Weg und Ziel, 2. Jahrgang (1937), Nr. 3''.
These comments were written by the leading communist intellectual [[Alfred Klahr]] (under his pseudonym "Rudolf"), after being asked in 1936 by the communist leadership in exile in [[Prague]] if the theoretical notion of an independent Austrian nation separate from Germany existed. 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 conviction in an independent Austria when the country was annexed to [[Nazi Germany]] in March [[1938]]. In their historical call ''"An das österreichische Volk"'' ("To the Austrian People") , the party denounced [[Hitler]]’s dictatorship and called on all people to fight together for an independent Austria.
As a result of the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]] 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.
During the [[Third Reich]], the communists played an important role in the Austrian resistance, fighting side-by-side with former political enemies such as [[Christian socialism|Christian socialists]], [[Catholic]]s, [[Monarchist]]s, and [[farmer]]s against the regime of Hitler. Thus the KPÖ took seriously the order of the Allied Powers in the "[[Muscovite memorandum]]" from October 1943, which called for Austria's "own contribution" to its liberation from fascism as a condition for the resurrection of their own state. Over 2,000 communists lost their lives during the course of the resistance.
There is some disagreement amongst historians if the Austrian communists fought the Nazis out of pure patriotism or if they followed the pattern of the fight of communism against fascism in general. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The Austrian communists wanted their country free from German occupation as well as communist.
== Second Republic ==
After Austria regained its freedom from Germany, the party briefly reached national importance because it was in part able to count on the support of the occupying Soviet authorities. In the first provisional government under [[Karl Renner]], the KPÖ was represented by seven members along with ten socialists and nine [[Christian social]]ists (see also the article about building of the Renner’s government in [http://www.literature.at/elib/www/wiki/index.php/Die_KP%C3%96_und_die_Konstituierung_der_Provisorischen_Regierung_Renner_%28Manfred_Mugrauer%29 eLib the Austria project]). Party chairman [[Johann Koplenig]] became vice-chancellor, [[Franz Honner]] responsible for matters of the Interior, and [[Ernst Fischer]] for matters of education. During the years of the national reconstruction, the KPÖ vehemently criticised the "capitalistic reconstruction at the expense of the working class" and totally rejected the [[Marshall Plan]].
With the first free [[Austria legislative election, 1945|National Council elections]] on [[November 25]] [[1945]] the KPÖ won only 5.4% of the votes (approximately 175,000 votes) and was thus represented with only four members in the Austrian parliament. Nevertheless, chancellor [[Leopold Figl]] offered the party a ministerial position in the government and [[Karl Altmann]] was made Minister for Energy. With the beginning of the [[Cold War]] and the continuing arguments around the Marshall Plan, Altmann resigned in [[1947]] from his office and the KPÖ became an opposition party.
== October strike 1950 ==
Because the post-war national economy was totally destroyed, the government had to institute an austere programme of recovery. The planned measures (''Vierte Lohn- und Preisabkommen'', Fourth wage and price-fixing agreement) included substantial price increases but much smaller wage increases and large-scale strike movements formed in protest from [[September 26]] to [[October 6]] [[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. However, the interruption of the strike to legitimise 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 Soviet occupied districts of Vienna, communist commandos stormed power stations and tram-depots. The [[Austrian Trade Union Federation]] (ÖGB) rejected the strike. The KPÖ took a prominent role in this strike, which is why politicians of the grand coalition feared a coup d'état behind the strikes, with the goal of the installation of a [[people’s republic]]. The KPÖ denied any such intentions.
On [[October 5]] the chairman of the Building and Wood workers Trade Union, [[Franz Olah]], succeeded in the dissolution of the October strikes. Olah organised workers who supported the SPÖ, in clashes with the communists they were able to outnumber and defeat them. This caused great irritation with the communist party and many SPÖ members. The fact that the Soviet [[Red Army]] did not interfere also brought the strike to an end.
== Weaknesses and crises ==
[[Image:Kpö.jpg|thumb|right|A post-war electoral poster claiming that "the Communists have made the most sacrifices in the liberation [from Nazi Germany]" and demanding "a free and independent [[Austria]]".]]
During the 10-year allied occupation from 1945-55, 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. Previously kept top-secret documents in the archives in Moscow have recently been made available to the public. The so-called ''Sondermappe'' contains valuable information about loans given to the provisional Austrian government of Renner, as well as about the extent of Soviet support and influence on the KPÖ and events in Austria. In December 2005, the [[Austrian Academy of Sciences]] (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften) published a new report, as a finale to the jubilee year of 50 years of Austrian independence since World War II. The report, which has been summarised in the book ''Sowjetische Politik in Österreich 1945-1955'' by the historian [[Werner Mueller]], reveals that the leadership of the KPÖ was in constant contact with the Soviet authorities and Moscow. The ÖVP and the SPÖ were able to win the majority of the votes in parliamentary elections on November 25, 1945 ([[St. Catherine]]’s Day, therefore the elections became known as the ''Katharinen-Wahl''), the KPÖ surprisingly won only four mandates. The KPÖ representative in Moscow, [[Friedrich Hexmann]] (b. [[1900]] – d. [[1991]]) 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 their goal to build a future coalition (''Volksfront'') with the socialists. This however meant that the difference between the KPÖ and the SPÖ was not very apparent, which meant severe losses to the communists. There were also several other problems back then with the party’s ideology:
*1) The party projected itself as a true Austrian patriotic party, believing and having fought for the liberation from Nazi Germany. The KPÖ had little problem correctly identifying and admitting the guilt that Austrians had in the crimes committed under the Hitler regime. Insofar, the KPÖ was already ahead of its time. However, right after the war Austria preferred to have a collective [[amnesia]] about its role and preferred to regard itself as the first victim of Nazi Germany, not its supporter. Any talk by the communists of the guilt that Austrians carried was therefore not working in favour for the KPÖ.
*2) The KPÖ advocated full [[Damages|compensation]] of war damages to the Soviet Union and
*3) It supported further closer ties to Moscow, not necessarily to the West.
Retrospectively, it can be assumed that especially the closeness of the KPÖ to Moscow made many voters wary of the party and its aims. In the former territories of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], multiparty democracies were slowly but surely being penetrated and undermined by the local communist parties with the covert or even overt support of the Soviets, as was observable in [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Hungary]] and [[Poland]]. As the Iron Curtain was being drawn closed, Austrians feared the same fate as their neighbours.
Talks between the leader Johann Koplenig and Stalin (''Sondermappe'' Codename: Gen. Filipof(f)) resulted in proposals of a possible division of Austria between East and West, similar to Germany. Since the KPÖ was constantly losing in the 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. Interestingly, the Soviet authorities in Moscow showed little interest for such a division for various reasons: the size of a newly established East Austria would have been quite small and may not have been capable of existing without massive assistance. Already, the situation in the Soviet sector of Austria was extremely 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]], 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.
Historians agree that Austria was extremely lucky considering the circumstances. Why was Austria spared the fate of a complete communist dictatorship unlike its neighbouring countries or even state division as in Germany? The position of the communists in Austria was not strong enough in order for them to effectively take over power, as opposed to in Czechoslovakia for example. The potentially important working class preferred to vote for the SPÖ; not even the great strike of 1950 could change that pattern. Besides, lyeven though Austria and Vienna was divided up into four zones controlled by the Allies, similar to Germany and Berlin, an "East Austria" would have been unviable. Stalin was basically not willing to waste any further time and energy for this seemingly difficult situation, focusing rather on consolidation of the rest of eastern and central Europe under Moscow’s rule. The only realistic exit strategy was to come to some favourable agreement with the Americans, British, and French and restore Austria’s independence.
Moscow wanted a guarantee of [[Neutral country|neutrality]] as a pre-condition for the release of Austria into independence; the country would not be allowed to join either sides of the Iron Curtain. As negotiations got 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]]. Many members of the 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]] was voted upon on [[May 15]] [[1955]], the declaration of neutrality proclaimed on [[October 26]] 1955. This was decided in the National Council with the votes of the ÖVP, SPÖ and the KPÖ; the [[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. Just like most of the other communist parties around the world, the KPÖ had oriented itself towards [[Marxism-Leninism]] of the Stalinist brand. After Stalin’s death, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] took over as chairman of the [[CPSU]]. He pursued a course of reform and shocked delegates at the [[20th Party Congress]] on [[February 23]], [[1956]] by making his famous [[Secret Speech]] denouncing the "[[cult of personality]]" that surrounded Stalin. As a consequence of this "thaw" the KPÖ also dissociated itself from [[Stalinism]]. A thorough analysis of the causes and the erroneous interpretations connected with Stalinism as well as its negative impact on socialism and the communist world movement, however, took place only after the collapse of the communist bloc in 1989.
The party’s failure to condemn the bloody suppression of the [[1956 Hungarian uprising]] led to a wave of withdrawals from the party. On [[May 10]] [[1959]] the KPÖ lost the National Council elections, receiving 142,000 votes, 3.3% of the total tally and thus missing the 4% benchmark.
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 side. A critic of these developments ("tank communism"), the former KPÖ Minister of Education, Ernst Fischer was expelled from the party and rehabilitated in only [[1998]].
Because of the continuiing fall in support, in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the party flirted briefly with the idea of [[Eurocommunism]]. This was a new brand of communism, tailored specifically to western European needs, away from the ''[[diktat]]'' of Moscow and the eastern European communist parties. Eurocommunism was supposed to work within the framework of a liberal democracy without abandoning the aims of communism. This in turn provoked the protest of the core supporter, who saw little difference to socialism and feared a weakening of the communist cause. The leadership of the KPÖ eventually saw itself forced to backtrack on this new ideology and Eurocommunism was subsequently dropped, the party restoring the connections to the CPSU.
Having previously had 150,000 members in the first couple of post-war years, the party’s ranks shrank to around 35,000 in the 1960's<ref>Benjamin, Roger W.; Kautsky, John H.. ''[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0554%28196803%2962%3A1%3C110%3ACAED%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V Communism and Economic Development]'', in The [[American Political Science Review]], Vol. 62, No. 1. (Mar., 1968), pp. 122.</ref> and to a few thousands in the 1970's. 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]]e'') (partially with interruptions) of [[Salzburg]] until [[1949]], in [[Lower Austria]] until [[1954]], in the [[Burgenland]] until [[1956]], in [[Vienna]] until [[1969]] and in [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]] as well as [[Styria]] until [[1970]]. In [[Upper Austria]], the [[Tyrol]] and [[Vorarlberg]] the KPÖ never won state representation. After losing its seats in the National Council and the state assemblies, the political emphasis shifted inevitably more strongly to enterprises and trade unions, the municipalities and starting from the 1970's to non-parliamentary alliance networks.
== After the fall of communism in Europe ==
With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the KPÖ saw itself confronted with new challenges about its philosophy and future. The experiment with a moderate form of Eurocommunism did not go down well with its core supporters; however, moderate voters could not be persuaded either. The KPÖ faced difficult times as communism and communist parties throughout the world were receding.
In January 1990 two new leaders, [[Walter Silbermayr]] and [[Susanne Sohn]], stepped in to renew the party and uncover the errors which were made in the past. The attempts by Sohn and Silbermayr to create a leftist alliance (''Wahlbündnis'') for the [[Austria legislative election, 1990|1990 National Council elections]] failed. The party lost about a third of its members. In March [[1991]], only three months later, both chairpersons resigned, because their course of renewal was not being supported internally enough by party-members.
The party has consistently been critical of the [[European Community]] and the [[European Union]], comparing Austria’s accession to the EU in [[1995]] to the ''[[Anschluß]]'' to 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 more as a long-term goal.
Until [[2003]], there was an official celebration on the Jesuitenwiese in the Vienna [[Prater]] park normally held each year in the first weekend of September. The celebration was named ''Volksstimmefest'', named its former party-newspaper. Due to financial reasons, the festival was unable to take place in [[2004]]. It has however since then staged a comeback in September [[2005]]. Today the KPÖ sees itself as part of the [[anti-globalisation]] movement as well as a [[feminist]] party. In the national elections it ran together with [[LINKE Liste]], during the European elections 2004 as part of the [[Party of the European Left]].
=== Financial situation ===
After the collapse of the [[German Democratic Republic]] in 1989, there were long court-proceedings for many years concerning the considerable net assets of the company "Novum", which was in possession of the KPÖ as a fortune reserve. Even though the company was officially an East German one, it was used to siphon money and finance the KPÖ. 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 of Germany|SED]] party, with the profits used almost exclusively to support the Austrian communists. As the successor state, the [[Federal Republic of Germany]] laid claim to all the finances of Novum, which was hotly contested by the KPÖ. It came to legal proceedings. 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]]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"). The continuing existence of the party depends largely on volunteer work of dedicated communists and sympathisers.
[[Image:Ekh-bleibt-maggie.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Transparency of an "''EKH-bleibt-Aktion''" (Ernst-Kirchweger-House-remains action)]]
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 other possible financial means to keep the house. Already in 2003 the party tried to convince the city of Vienna to buy the object to save it from privatisation; however, the city authorities did not respond so the house's occupying groups were also not willing to co-operate. Only before the [[2005]] local council elections, a solution could be found.
=== Internal-party conflict ===
Since 1994 a conflict has been boiling between the party leadership around [[Walter Baier]] and different internal oppositional party-groups, who had gathered themselves mainly around the newspaper nVs (''neue Volksstimme'', "new Voice of the people") and the internet platform [http://www.kominform.at www.kominform.at]. While the critics accused Walter Baier of [[Marxist revisionism|revisionism]] and betrayal of [[Marxism]], 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]]. In the elections to the [[European parliament]] the KPÖ ran in a largely self-financed alliance ("''Wahlbündnis LINKS''") with [[Leo Gabriel]] as the leading candidate. In an interview with the magazine [[profil (magazine)|profil]], he spoke out against socialism ("''Ich will ein solidarisches, kein sozialistisches Europa.''" [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kp%C3%B6#Innerparteilicher_Konflikt] "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 [[election boycott|boycotted the election campaign]]. The election result of 0.77% or 20,497 votes was disappointing and meant a drop of 1,466 voices compared to the election results of 1999.
The pressure on the party leadership to convene a party congress rose as a consequence whereupon the leadership, which consisted of Walter Baier and two further members, called up the [[33rd Party Congress]] of the KPÖ for the [[December 11]] and [[December 12]], [[2004]] as a [[delegation]] party congress in Linz-[[Ebelsberg]]. With this summoning the leadership ignored a resolution of the [[32nd Party Congress]] (which was held as an "all-members" party congress, not a delegates), which stated that the following 33rd Party Congress 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 has to decide in such cases. The arbitration commission decided however that formally no breach of the statute was recognisable since according to statute the Party Congress cannot decide on the concrete form of a convening party congress. Some members of the branch KPÖ Ottakring ([[Ottakring]] is a traditional 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 the party’s chair. The delegates Party Congress convened and took place on [[December 4]] and [[December 5]] [[2004]] with 76 delegates meeting in Ebelsberg. The Party Congress was boycotted by the internal party opposition as well as of the regional branch KPÖ Tyrol and the KPÖ Graz/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) [http://www.oesterreich2005.at/].
Walter Baier was re-elected without contest 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 excluded from the party. Some critics accused the leadership of undemocratic procedures and also withdrew from the party. <br /> 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 later that month.
Also the relationship to the [[Communist Youth of Austria - Young Left]] (KJÖ) was tense, because attempts have been made by the leadership to develop a new youth organisation.
== KPÖ Graz and Styria ==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:KPÖ 2005.JPG|thumb|right|A poster for the 2005 municipal elections in [[Vienna]]. Objecting to "half-baked things", the KPÖ demands "a whole life" for the citizens of Vienna.]] -->
[[Image:KPÖ election poster 2006 013.jpg|thumb|right|Poster for the 2006 general elections. "Equilibrium instead of ''rich people's weight''"]]
On the local level a continuing importance was achieved in the state of [[Styria]], where the KPÖ [[Graz]] developed to a successful local party (20.75% in the 2005 local council elections). This was achieved due in large part to the popular town councillor [[Ernest Kaltenegger]]. Traditionally at the year’s end the leaders of the Graz KPÖ reveal open their accounts. 60 per cent of the town councillors and 50 per cent of the local councillors [[salary]] are given to social purposes, in accordance with the basic rules of the KPÖ. In the election to the Styrian ''Landtag'' (State Diet or assembly) on [[October 2]] [[2005]] the KPÖ with leading candidate Ernest Kaltenegger were able to win four seats. This was their first return in the Styrian assembly since 1970.
== Recent elections ==
{|class="wikitable" align="center"
|----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD"
! colspan="3"| Results of the last important elections
|-
! align="center" | Year
! align="center" | Location
! align="center" | Percentage of votes received
|-
| align="center" | [[Austrian legislative election, 2006|2006]]
| align="center" | Austria
| align="center" | 1.01% (+ 0.45%)
|-
| align="center" | 2005
| align="center" | Vienna
| align="center" | 1.47% (+ 0.83%)
|-
| align="center" | 2005
| align="center" | Styria
| align="center" | 6.32% (+ 5.31%)
|-
| align="center" | [[European Parliament election, 2004|2004]]
| align="center" | Europe
| align="center" | 0.78% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | Carinthia
| align="center" | 0.6% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2003
| align="center" | Upper Austria
| align="center" | 0.80% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2003
| align="center" | Lower Austria
| align="center" | 0.77% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | Tyrol
| align="center" | 0.70% (+-?)
|-
| align="center" | [[Austria legislative election, 2002|2002]]
| align="center" | Austria
| align="center" | 0.56% (+ 0.08)
|}
In state elections the KPÖ ran for the last time in 1987 in [[Burgenland]] (0.56%), in [[Salzburg (state)|Salzburg]] in 1989 (0.5%), and in [[Vorarlberg]] in 1989 (0.71%). After hitting an absolute low in most elections in the 1990's, the party gradually succeeded to recover to results similar to the 1980's. Since [[October 2]] [[2005]], the KPÖ is once again represented with 4 seats in the Styrian state assembly. Because of this regional success and the resulting extensive media-coverage the party was able to profit in the following state election in Vienna on [[October 23]] 2005, where it reached 1.47%. This doubling in votes was partly due to the fact that the age of voting was lowered to 16 years for the first time. For the first time since 1991 the KPÖ had seats in the districts. On [[October 23]] 2005 one mandate each was won in the districts of [[Leopoldstadt]] and [[Landstraße]]. In the remaining 21 districts mandates were narrowly missed.
''See also: [[Styria state election, 2005]], [[Vienna state election, 2005]]''
The KPÖ tried to build a leftist-alliance, similar to the [[Die Linkspartei.]] party in Germany, in time for the [[Austrian legislative election, 2006|parliamentary elections in 2006]]. However the party will run alone.
== Party chairpersons since 1945 ==
The chart below shows a timeline of the communist chairpersons and the [[Chancellor of Austria|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 ([[SPÖ]]) and black ([[ÖVP]]) 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 [[cabinet]]s.
<timeline>
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:2008
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
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,$dy) color:KPÖ text:[[Walter Silbermayr]], [[Susanne Sohn]]
from:1991 till:1994 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text:[[Otto Bruckner]], [[Margitta Kaltenegger]], [[Julius Mende]]
from:1994 till:2006 shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text:[[Walter Baier]]
from:2006 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:KPÖ text:[[Melina Klaus]], [[Mirko Messner]]
bar:Govern. color:red width:26 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7
from:1945 till:1946 shift:($dx,-2) color:SPÖ text:[[Karl Renner|Renner]]
from:1946 till:1949 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:[[Leopold Figl|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:[[Julius Raab|Raab]] 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,$dy) color:ÖVP text:[[Alfons Gorbach|Gorbach]] I
from:1963 till:1964 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Gorbach II
from:1964 till:1966 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:[[Josef Klaus|Klaus]] I
from:1966 till:1970 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Klaus II
from:1970 till:1971 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:[[Bruno Kreisky|Kreisky]] I
from:1971 till:1975 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Kreisky II
from:1975 till:1979 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Kreisky III
from:1979 till:1983 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Kreisky IV
from:1983 till:1986 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:[[Fred Sinowatz|Sinowatz]]
from:1986 till:1987 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:[[Franz Vranitzky|Vranitzky]] I
from:1987 till:1990 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky II
from:1990 till:1994 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky III
from:1994 till:1996 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky IV
from:1996 till:1997 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Vranitzky V
from:1997 till:2000 shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:[[Viktor Klima|Klima]]
from:2000 till:2003 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:[[Wolfgang Schüssel|Schüssel]] I
from:2003 till:2007 shift:($dx,$dy) color:ÖVP text:Schüssel II
from:2007 till:end shift:($dx,$dy) color:SPÖ text:Gusenbauer
</timeline>
== Literature ==
{{kompartiya}}
* 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, ISBN 3-901421-51-3
* 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), ISBN 3-7065-4142-4
* Wolfgang Mueller: ''Die sowjetische Besatzung in Österreich 1945-1955 und ihre politische Mission'' Boehlau Verlag, Wien 2005, ISBN 3-205-77399-3
* Wolfgang Mueller, A. Suppan, N. Naimark, G. Bordjugov (Ed.). ''Sowjetische Politik in Österreich 1945–1955: Dokumente aus russischen Archiven'' ISBN 3-7001-3536-X [http://www.austriaca.at/3536-X]
== See also ==
* [[Elections in Austria]]
* [[Communist Youth of Austria - Young Left]]
== References ==
<references/>
== External links ==
{{commonscat-inline}}
* [http://www.kpoe.at/ Official homepage of the KPÖ]
* [http://www.yc.or.at/ Young Communists]
* [http://www.kjoe.at/ Austrian Communist Youth]
* [http://www.kominform.at/ KomInform] (seceded from the KPÖ)
* [http://www.kpoe-graz.at/ KPÖ Graz]
* [http://www.ekhbleibt.info/ Campaign for the Ernst-Kirchweger-House (EKH)]
{{Austrian political parties}}
{{European communist parties}}
[[Category:Comintern sections]]
[[Category:Communist parties in Europe|Austria, Communist Party of Austria]]
[[Category:Political parties in Austria]]
[[ar:حزب النمسا الشيوعي]]
[[bn:অস্ট্রিয়ার কমিউনিস্ট পার্টি]]
[[da:KPÖ]]
[[de:Kommunistische Partei Österreichs]]
[[es:Partido Comunista de Austria]]
[[fa:حزب کمونیست اتریش]]
[[fr:Parti communiste autrichien]]
[[hi:आस्ट्रिया की कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी]]
[[hsb:KPÖ]]
[[id:Partai Komunis Austria]]
[[nl:Communistische Partij van Oostenrijk]]
[[ne:अष्ट्रीया कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी]]
[[pms:Partì Comunista dl’Àustria]]
[[pl:Komunistyczna Partia Austrii]]
[[pt:Partido Comunista da Áustria]]
[[ru:Коммунистическая партия Австрии]]
[[tl:Partido Komunista ng Austria]]
[[ta:ஆஸ்திரியா கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி]]
[[tr:Avusturya Komünist Partisi]]