!!!Christlichsoziale Partei

Christian Social Party, founded as a democratic party by K.  Lueger 
1893. The nucleus of the Christian Social party was made up of the 
"United Christians" ("Vereinigte Christen"), the "Christian Social 
Association" ("Christlich-sozialer Verein", founded 1887) and the 
"Christian Social Labour Association" ("Christlich-sozialer 
Arbeiterverein"), which were, in turn, members of the  Christian 
Socialist Movement. Largely due to a basically anti-Semitic 
perspective the party fought against Liberalism and the German Liberal 
Party. K. Lueger was supported by K. von  Vogelsang and Prince 
Aloys  Liechtenstein. Since Lueger had the Vienna middle class behind 
him, his party won a two-thirds majority in the Vienna Municipal 
Council in 1895. The party´s great-Austrian and federalist 
policies finally made it popular even at Court and among the nobility, 
who had opposed it earlier, and by unification with the traditionally 
clericalist and conservative groups it also won support from the rural 
masses.

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In 1907 the Christian Social party ("German Christian Socialists" and 
Clericalists) won the elections to the Reichsrat as the strongest 
party of the house of representatives, yet was defeated after 
Lueger´s death (1910) in the elections of 1911. After this 
defeat, by which the party lost its majority of votes in Vienna to the 
Social Democrats, it gained support mainly from the Catholic rural 
population and the middle class. During World War I the party was 
loyal to the state authority; after the overthrow of the monarchy in 
1918 it favoured the establishment of a republic and, for a time, 
annexation to Germany.

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In 1918-1920 it entered into a coalition with the Social Democratic 
party and in 1920 took over the government as the strongest party of 
the coalition with the  Grossdeutsche Volkspartei (until 1932) and the 
 Landbund (1927-1934). From 1920 the party provided the Federal 
Chancellor - except for the years 1921/22 and 1929/30 (J.  Schober); 
between 1928-1938 also the Federal President (W.  Miklas). When I.  
Seipel resigned as party chairman (1929), C.  Vaugoin took over the 
leadership of the Christian Social Party, and advocated closer ties 
with the  Heimwehr para-military force. Since co-operation with the 
Heimwehr did not prove fruitful, the Christian Social party returned 
to the coalition with the "German Nationalists" and the "Country 
Party" ("Landbund"; from 1932 only with the Country Party). As a 
consequence of the end of parliamentary democracy (1933/34), the 
foundation of the  Fatherland Front and the proclamation of the May 
Constitution, the Christian Social Party was dissolved in September 
1934 and incorporated into the Fatherland Front.

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After 1945 the  Oesterreichische Volkspartei (Austrian People's 
Party), newly founded by mostly former Christian Socialist 
politicians, took over the tradition of the Christian Social Party.

!Literature
F. Stauracz, Eine wahre Volkspartei ..., 1904; Kralik, K. 
Lueger und der christlich Sozialismus, 1923; A. Ernst, Die 
Christlichsoziale Partei und die oesterreichische Sozialpolitik bis 
1918, doctoral thesis, Vienna 1948; F. Funder, Vom Gestern ins Heute, 
1952; Protokolle des Klubvorstandes der Christlichsozialen Partei 
1932-34, 1980.


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