Austria: The People's Party Wins

Austria's two major political parties have ruled the country in a "black and red" coalition ever since World War II, mainly because neither could win enough seats in Parliament to rule alone. Last week's election was expected to follow the pattern. Instead, something quite startling happened: losing two seats, the "red" Socialists' parliamentary delegation fell to 74, while the "black" People's Party increased its number of seats by four to 85—an absolute majority in the 165-seat Parliament.

The Socialists had only themselves to blame for their setback. Badly misreading his countrymen's sentiments, Socialist Leader Dr. Bruno Pittermann, 60, refused to dissociate...

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