1975 Austrian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 5 October 1975.^[1] The result was a victory for the Socialist Party (SPÖ), which won 93 of the 183 seats. Voter turnout was 93%.^[2]

1975 Austrian legislative election

← 1971 5 October 1975 1979 →
All 183 seats in the National Council of Austria 92 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Bruno Kreisky Josef Taus [de] Friedrich Peter Party SPÖ ÖVP FPÖ Last election 50.04%, 93 seats 43.11%, 80 seats 6.29%, 10 seats Seats won 93 80 10 Seat change Popular vote 2,326,201 1,981,291 249,444 Percentage 50.42% 42.95% 5.41% Swing 0.38pp 0.16pp 0.88pp
Seats won by state and nationwide. States are shaded according to the most voted-for party.
Chancellor before election Bruno Kreisky SPÖ Elected Chancellor Bruno Kreisky SPÖ

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Socialist Party of Austria	2,326,201	50.42	93	0
	Austrian People's Party	1,981,291	42.95	80	0
	Freedom Party of Austria	249,444	5.41	10	0
	Communist Party of Austria	55,032	1.19	0	0
	Group of Revolutionary Marxists [de]	1,024	0.02	0	New
	Steinacher Franz List	440	0.01	0	New
Total		4,613,432	100.00	183	0
Valid votes		4,613,432	98.94
Invalid/blank votes		49,252	1.06
Total votes		4,662,684	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		5,019,277	92.90
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Aftermath

The SPÖ was able to keep their absolute majority in this election as well and continued to appoint Bruno Kreisky as Chancellor. The Kreisky III Federal Government took office on 28 October 1975.

Following the elections, Simon Wiesenthal, at that time the head of the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna, published a report on the Nazi past of the long-serving Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leader Friedrich Peter. This report revealed that Peter had served as an Obersturmbannführer in an SS unit associated with mass murders. Despite having been a victim of the Nazi regime, Kreisky defended Peter and accused Wiesenthal of employing "Mafia methods" and implied that he had collaborated with the Gestapo.

This public dispute is today referred to as the Kreisky–Peter–Wiesenthal affair. In 1978 Peter did not run again for the position of FPÖ federal party chairman. His successor was the Mayor of Graz Alexander Götz [de].

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p196 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Nohlen & Stöver, p215