Page - 20 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

20 chapter 1 on 28November 1916, FriedrichAdler’s assassination of PrimeMinister Karl Stürgkhon21October 1916, andthestrike in January 1918. In thecrowncoun- tries,whichhad recognised the rule of theHabsburgs at theoutbreakof the war, separatistmovements, such as the Polish separatistmovement and the Czechmovementunder the leadershipofTomášMasaryk, rosetothesurface. As far as outsidepolitical observerswere concerned, thedays of thedynasty were soon to come to an end. Only two forces did not accept the historical inevitabilityof themonarchy’sdemise: thegovernmentandthe rightwingof theSocialDemocrats,whichconstituted themajorityof theparty.Ernestvon Koerber’s government introducedaprogramme for the autonomyofAustro- Hungarian countries, and, prior to that, passed an act that allowed Galicia to separate. These solutions were too little, too late. There were no parties left thatmight have been interested in them. The same fate was bestowed onCharles i of Austria’smanifesto of 17October 1918, by virtue ofwhich all nationsofthemonarchyweretobegrantedextensiveautonomy.KarlRenner’s ‘Mitteleuropa’ (‘centralEurope’) project,whichhadbeenanofficial objective of Social-Democratic politics since 1916, was based on similar premises. The goalwas tobuilda leagueofnations fromtheNorthSea to theAegeanSea.A democraticconstitutionwouldguaranteeequaleconomicandculturaldevel- opment for allmember states. Bauer’s leftminority viewed thisproject scep- tically, introducingin1917aprogrammewhichguaranteedtherightofnations toself-determination.ThisprogrammewasmoreconcernedwiththeGerman minority inAustria than itwaswithSlavic states.FromOctober toNovember 1918, independentgovernmentsemergedinCzechoslovakia,PolandandHun- gary,andwithCharles i’s resignationon11November1918, theexistenceofthe monarchywasbroughttoanend.Themostobviousreasonsforitsdemisewere wartimedefeatsandnationalliberationefforts,thoughtherewerefurthercon- tributingfactorsunderthemeniscus: thebureaucratisedmechanismofpower in theconstitutionalmonarchy,whichonly functionedbyvirtueof the lawof inertia,miscalculationsinforeignpolicy,themilitaryshortcomingsofthearmy, theelderlyformofEmperorFranzJosephi.Furthermore,parliamentarismwas stillweakinAustria. As the empirewas in its death throes, German-speaking delegates of the strongest political parties – the Christian Social Party, the Greater German People’sParty,andthesdap–convenedtheProvisionalNationalAssemblyand foundedthefirstcoalitiongovernment,theStateCouncil,on21November1918. Thiswas done in order to curb riots on thepart ofworkers,whodemanded the establishment of a democratic state power, an end to the war, and the eradication of restrictions in the factories. However, the individual parties had opposing interests that could not be brought into accord. The liberal