Page - 300 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

300 chapter 8 willingness to accept the party leaders’ purely defensive administrationwas waning.OnBauer’s recommendation, the sdap remained inoppositiondes- pite itselectionvictory. Giventheescalatingeconomiccrisis from1931–2,OttoEnder’sgovernment attempted to save the economic situationby agreeing on a tariff unionwith Germany–yetthiswasneveractualisedduetoresistancefromFranceandthe LittleEntente.AstheChristianSocialandGreaterGermancoalitionfellapart, both theHeimwehrandnsdap tookadvantageof the intensifyingeconomic andpoliticalcrisis.AlthoughaputschattemptbytheStyriancommanderofthe Heimwehr,WalterPfirmer, failedon 13September 1931, theperpetratorswere notbroughttojustice. ItwasasignthatthebalanceofforceswithintheHeim- wehrwaschanging:theconservative-legitimisttrendprevailedoverthenation- alist, anditsexponent,EmilFey,wasappointedvicechancellorof thegovern- ment. Intheregionalelectionson24April 1932, theNationalSocialists scored theirfirstelectoralsuccess,winning336,000votes(17.4percent)attheexpense of theChristianSocial Party. TheSocialDemocrats still expected towinover theworkingmasses,pettybourgeoisieandunemployed,astheyfalselybelieved that impoverishmentandhardshipwere revolutionising factors (Kautskyhad alreadywarnedagainst this duringWorldWar i).14 In reality, unemployment led to resignationanddrove theaffected into thearmsof fascistsofboth fac- tions.NazipropagandaskilfullyexploitedthisphenomenonbydeclaringGer- manyasthecountrywhereaneconomicmiraclehadoccurred.Ifoneconsiders themethodsthatBauer forcedonthepartyat thetime–remaining inoppos- ition, constantly attacking Karl Buresch’s government and demanding elec- tions–then it is fair towonder,asLeserdoes,howaparty leadershipactively weakening the shaky foundationsof thebourgeois stateandunwilling touse forceagainst the fascists intendedtosavedemocracy.15Baueronlyrecognised the fact that theSocialDemocrats’ positionhadbeena tactical error, caused by the leaders’ stubbornclinging toAustromarxist theory, in thewakeof the totaldefeatofdemocracy in 1934.Earlier, at thepartycongress in theautumn of1932,hefinallybecameawareofthefascistperil, statingthefollowing: 14 Inhis commentary on the election results of 24April 1932, Bauer arrived at thewrong conclusion regarding thegrowing fascist trend.Hebelieved theSocialDemocrats could win the petty-bourgeoismasses that the crisis had put at risk for socialism. See Bauer 1932,p. 192.AsLeserpointsout inLeser 1968,p.457,Bauerdidnot realise that thepetty- bourgeois masses did not wish for socialist equality and a classless society, but – on thecontrary– rescuing frombeingdeclassed.Theywanted topreserve theirposition in societyatthepriceofgeneral inequalityofclasses. 15 CompareLeser1968,p.458.