Kreisky SPÖ era — Austro-Keynesian corporatism and hard-schilling peg

Doctrine — stated goals and content

The defining Austrian social-democratic era — 13 years of single- party SPÖ majority government, the only one in post-war Austrian history. School: Austro-Keynesian corporatism — combining Keynesian demand management, institutionalised "Sozialpartnerschaft" (ÖGB- WKÖ-AK-Präsidentenkonferenz tripartism), and from 1976 the "Hartwährungspolitik" (hard-currency peg to the Deutschmark). Left-right axis: centre-left / classical European social democracy; further left than Schlüter's Denmark on public ownership and transfer expansion, but converged on hard-currency discipline after 1976. Core policy content: (i) 1972 family law reform; (ii) 1975 "Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz" strengthening works councils; (iii) expansion of verstaatlichte Industrie — ÖIAG nationalised industrial conglomerate (steel VOEST, chemicals Chemie Linz, oil OMV) as counter-cyclical employment shock absorber running persistent deficits that became crisis-prone by early 1980s; (iv) 1976 OeNB shift to pegging the schilling 1:7 to the DM, imposing external discipline even as fiscal stance remained expansionary; (v) 1978 Zwentendorf nuclear-plant referendum lost 50.5%-49.5% — ended Austrian nuclear programme; (vi) "Austro- Keynesianism" term coined internally to describe the mix; Austria ran growth above OECD average with low inflation 1975-1982. Popularity signals: 1971 election SPÖ 50.0% absolute majority; 1975 50.4%; 1979 51.0% (peak); 1983 47.7% — first majority loss, Kreisky resigned, succeeded by Sinowatz in SPÖ-FPÖ coalition. Coherence: high — internationally celebrated as the "Austrian miracle"; by early 1980s verstaatlichte-Industrie losses and fiscal strain exposed the model's limits, leading to the 1985-1993 privatisation programme under successors.