4 - Austria: Tracing the Christian Democrats’ Adaptation to the Silent Counter-Revolution

Summary

The chapter explains how the centrist Christian Democratic Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) has responded to the challenges of the silent revolution and counter-revolution by demonstrating a selective willingness to cooperate with the populist radical right Freedom Party (FPÖ). Sufficient electoral distress led to the installation of new leaders who were able to change the strategic status quo. In the first instance, in 1995 Wolfgang Schüssel emphasized policy-seeking and in the second case Sebastian Kurz pursed vote-seeking. Both strategies resulted in a positional alignment and eventually a coalition with the FPÖ, which at the time was pursuing office. Changes in the ÖVP depended on shifts in the balance of power among important intra-party groups, specifically, hardline Conservatives and market Liberals viewing cooperation with the FPÖ as advantageous for their respective interests. Overall, the chapter concludes that while the ÖVP has been affected by massive voter de-alignment since the 1980s, it responded to the counter-revolution and the resulting surge of nativist populism mainly by means of emulation and cooperation.