The Republic and the Parliamentary System

The Provisional National Assembly claimed to represent a new state called “German-Austria” that was to comprise the entire German-speaking territory of Cisleithanien. Of the three political camps represented in the Provisional National Assembly – the German Nationals, Christian Socials and Social Democrats – the latter were the weakest in terms of parliamentary seats. However, they were the best – and in fact the only – political force prepared for the dissolution of the monarchy. They had two major objectives: firstly, to avoid being constantly overruled by the middle-class majority after recovering from their initial shock due to the distribution of seats in the Provisional National Assembly. (In point of fact, their fears were unjustified at this time.) Their second goal was to secure political leadership of parliament (as opposed to government) in the light of their experience with the governmental system of the constitutional monarchy. The constitutional concept developed – and rapidly introduced ­– by the Social Democrats served to achieve both objectives. In order to shift the traditional distribution of power between parliament and government in favour of parliament, governmental power was vested in an executive committee of the National Assembly so as to ensure that the Social Democrats would also be represented.

At its second session on 30 October, 1918, the Provisional National Assembly adopted a resolution on “the basic institutions of state authority” on the basis of this concept (or to be precise, a draft prepared by Karl Renner). Under this provisional constitution, the Provisional National Assembly was given “supreme authority over the state of German-Austria”. In other words, legislative power was vested directly in the Provisional National Assembly, while governmental and executive powers were exercised by a committee known as the “German-Austrian State Council”. In its turn, this council entrusted the administration of the state to its authorised representatives, who between them formed the government. Karl Renner, the Social Democratic head of the state chancellery, was soon to play a significant role in this, the first concentration government.

Under the “October Constitution”, the state council was authorised to issue decrees, though in practice this right was soon exercised by the individual members of the government formally confirmed by the constitutional amendment of 19 December, 1918. As far as daily political routine was concerned, the system of connected powers provided for by the “October Constitution” proved too complex, and therefore only lasted for a period of four months. The new state was established during this period of transition. Due to the change in the parliamentary majority, the state council was no longer required to be proportional, and it was abolished as the body connecting the powers. The resulting government was functionally independent of parliament, but still politically subordinated to it.

The concept of “parliamentary rule” was maintained, aimed at enforcing the “will of the people” (i.e. the sovereign) regarding the formulation of political objectives by their parliamentary representatives without interference from a government that was independent of it. (During the constitutional monarchy the government had, of course, been answerable to the monarch.) The political responsibility of government to parliament is the quintessence of the parliamentary system, as opposed to the constitutional monarchy (which depended upon the classical concept of separation of power), or to the presidential system. 30 October, 1918 can therefore be regarded as the date of birth of the parliamentary system in Austria.

One essential question remained unsettled on that day, and that was the question of state reform. The only thing clear from the outset was that the new state was to be democratic: it remained to be seen whether it would be a democratic monarchy or a republic! Only the Social Democrats had a clear policy in favour of a republic, while the other parties initially tended rather towards a democratic monarchy. However, they soon changed their stance when the man on the streets started to exert pressure. As early as 30 October, demonstrators were loudly voicing demands for a republic to be proclaimed. On 11 November, 1918 Emperor Charles renounced any say in affairs of state. The very next day, the Provisional National Assembly, which by this time had already moved to the new parliament buildings on Ringstrasse, unanimously adopted a “law on the form of the state and government of German-Austria”. Article 1 set out that “German-Austria is a democratic republic. All public authorities are to be instituted by the people.”

The proclamation of a republic by parliament on 12 November, 1918 was also a tragic prelude to the sad history of the First Austrian Republic: riots in the streets left two people dead and many injured. These events not only marked the start of a period of ferocious struggle, but were also the beginning of the violent and tragic end of the First Republic, though at the time no one could have foreseen the conditions under which the republic would be annexed to the German Reich in 1938. Article 2 of the law stated that “German-Austria is an integral part of the German Republic.”

Since all hope of establishing a federation of succession states from the monarchy had been dashed, an attempt was now made to seek refuge in a union with Germany. This was mainly for economic reasons, as hardly any politicians believed in the economic viability of Austria as a small state. The wording of the law of 12 November, 1918 was intended to be interpreted as a manifestation of the political will to form a union with Germany, rather than an act that would be binding under international or constitutional law. Germany itself took little initiative with regard to the question of annexation, fearing that this would prejudice its own peace negotiations. Be that as it may, the Republic of German-Austria was severely handicapped right from the very beginning: few people were confident in this form of government, neither did they believe in Austria as an independent state.

Other resolutions adopted by the Provisional National Assembly on 12 November, 1918 included one on the “solemn declaration of accession by the provinces, regions and districts of the state territory”. Whilst the Provisional National Assembly in Vienna had assumed the state authority of German-Austria, provisional provincial assemblies had replaced the provincial diets elected on the basis of the curiae franchise with its historical units, the provinces. Almost all the historical provinces issued declarations of accession to German-Austria, including the newly-established provinces of German-Bohemia and Sudetenland. However, the declarations of the latter remained ineffective. Despite the fact that they were predominantly German-speaking, these provinces were claimed by the Republic of Czechoslovakia proclaimed in Prague on 28 October.

The state of German-Austria proclaimed in November 1918 was therefore based on two fallacies: annexation to Germany, and the fact that the state comprised regions claimed by neighbouring states. It was obvious to anyone with foresight that these assumptions were unfounded, and that the victorious powers of the First World War would hardly give their consent to either. It was equally clear that people would find it difficult to identify with a state defined in such a confused manner. It was therefore all the more important to provide the state with a constitution that would serve as a common point of reference to all its citizens. This was a particularly urgent matter in view of the fact that the frequently amended provisional constitution of 30 October was nothing more than an “emergency shelter, a preliminary establishment of public authority”.