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 94%.^[2]

1966 Austrian legislative election

← 1962 6 March 1966 1970 →
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 Last election 45.43%, 81 seats 44.00%, 76 seats 7.04%, 8 seats 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 2.92pp 1.44pp 1.69pp
Seats won by constituency and nationwide. Constituencies are shaded according to the most voted-for party.
Chancellor before election Josef Klaus ÖVP Elected Chancellor Josef Klaus ÖVP

During the campaign, ÖVP Chancellor Josef Klaus (who had succeeded Alfons Gorbach in 1964) 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; the ÖVP won an outright majority of three seats, enough to 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 Party	2,191,109	48.35	85	+4
	Socialist Party of Austria	1,928,985	42.56	74	–2
	Freedom Party of Austria	242,570	5.35	6	–2
	Democratic Progressive Party	148,528	3.28	0	New
	Communists and Left Socialists	18,636	0.41	0	0
	Liberal Party of Austria	1,571	0.03	0	New
	Marxist–Leninist Party of Austria	486	0.01	0	New
Total		4,531,885	100.00	165	0
Valid votes		4,531,885	98.86
Invalid/blank votes		52,085	1.14
Total votes		4,583,970	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		4,886,818	93.80
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

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