1975 Austrian legislative election

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

1975 Austrian legislative election

← 1971 5 October 1975 1979 →

All 183 seats in the National Council of Austria
92 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Bruno Kreisky Josef Taus [de] Friedrich Peter
Party SPÖ ÖVP FPÖ
Last election 50.04%, 93 seats 43.11%, 80 seats 6.29%, 10 seats
Seats won 93 80 10
Seat change Steady Steady Steady
Popular vote 2,326,201 1,981,291 249,444
Percentage 50.42% 42.95% 5.41%
Swing Increase 0.38pp Decrease 0.16pp Decrease 0.88pp

Seats won by state and nationwide. States are shaded according to the most voted-for party.

Chancellor before election

Bruno Kreisky
SPÖ

Elected Chancellor

Bruno Kreisky
SPÖ

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Socialist Party of Austria2,326,20150.42930
Austrian People's Party1,981,29142.95800
Freedom Party of Austria249,4445.41100
Communist Party of Austria55,0321.1900
Group of Revolutionary Marxists [de]1,0240.020New
Steinacher Franz List4400.010New
Total4,613,432100.001830
Valid votes4,613,43298.94
Invalid/blank votes49,2521.06
Total votes4,662,684100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,019,27792.90
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Aftermath

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The SPÖ was able to keep their absolute majority in this election as well and continued to appoint Bruno Kreisky as Chancellor. The Kreisky III Federal Government took office on 28 October 1975.

Following the elections, Simon Wiesenthal, at that time the head of the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna, published a report on the Nazi past of the long-serving Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leader Friedrich Peter. This report revealed that Peter had served as an Obersturmbannführer in an SS unit associated with mass murders. Despite having been a victim of the Nazi regime, Kreisky defended Peter and accused Wiesenthal of employing "Mafia methods" and implied that he had collaborated with the Gestapo.

This public dispute is today referred to as the Kreisky–Peter–Wiesenthal affair. In 1978 Peter did not run again for the position of FPÖ federal party chairman. His successor was the Mayor of Graz Alexander Götz [de].

References

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