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The Bergkirche in Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland in Austria. Photo: Herbert Frank flickr.com Post-war Austrian politics, at least until the 1990s, has not been known for its unpredictability or diversity when it comes to coalitions. Austria holds the peculiar distinction of having been ruled by a ‘grand coalition’ (a government composed of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP)) for longer than most European countries. In a period when these coalitions were much less common across the continent at various levels, they became an integral part of the Austrian political sphere. Of course, third parties already existed, and have occasionally taken part in government. This is especially true since the creation of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) in 1956. Nevertheless, the system was by definition dominated by the two largest parties both in the federal parliament and in the nine state legislatures, kno

Upper austriaNorbert hoferFranz vranitzkySebastian kurzBruno kreiskyFred sinowatzBurgenland landeshauptmann hans niesslHeinz christian stracheJohann tschNorbert stegerWilfried haslauer jrSalzburg catholicHerbert frankStefano arroqueWerner faymannJohann gudenus