1966 Austrian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 6 March 1966.[1] The result was a victory for the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which won 85 of the 165 seats. Voter turnout was 93.8%.[2]

1966 Austrian legislative election

6 March 1966

165 seats in the National Council of Austria
83 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Josef Klaus Bruno Pittermann Friedrich Peter
Party ÖVP SPÖ FPÖ
Leader since 1963 1957 1958
Last election 81 seats, 45.43% 76 seats, 44.00% 8 seats, 7.04%
Seats won 85 74 6
Seat change 4 2 2
Popular vote 2,191,109 1,928,985 242,570
Percentage 48.35% 42.56% 5.35%
Swing 2.92% 1.44% 1.69%

Chancellor before election

Josef Klaus
ÖVP

Elected Chancellor

Josef Klaus
ÖVP

During the campaign, ÖVP Chancellor Josef Klaus had called for an end to the grand coalition with the Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ) that had governed since 1945. The election results seemingly left Klaus free to break off the coalition; with an outright majority of three seats, the ÖVP could govern alone. However, Klaus reversed himself and proposed a new coalition agreement. The SPÖ leadership supported a renewed coalition, but talks failed when the SPÖ rank and file balked at the proposed coalition terms.[3] Klaus then formed an exclusively ÖVP cabinet, the first one-party government of the Second Republic.[4] It was also the first purely centre-right government in Austria since before World War II.

As of the 2019 elections, this is the only time in the ÖVP's history where it has governed in a majority. The ÖVP had won a majority of seats once before, during the first postwar election in 1945, but opted to lead a grand coalition rather than govern alone.

Results

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Austrian People's Party2,191,10948.385+4
Socialist Party of Austria1,928,98542.674–2
Freedom Party of Austria242,5705.46–2
Democratic Progressive Party148,5283.30New
Communists and Left Socialists18,6360.400
Liberal Party of Austria1,5710.00New
Marxist–Leninist Party of Austria4860.00New
Invalid/blank votes52,085
Total4,583,9701001650
Source: Nohlen & Stöver
Popular vote
ÖVP
48.35%
SPÖ
42.56%
FPÖ
5.35%
DFP
3.28%
KLS
0.41%
Other
0.05%
Parliamentary seats
ÖVP
51.52%
SPÖ
44.85%
FPÖ
3.64%

References

  1. Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (31 May 2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. p. 196. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p215
  3. Austria: a country study. Government Printing Office for the Library of Congress, 1994.
  4. Austria at Encyclopædia Britannica


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