Josef Klaus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Josef Klaus

Josef Klaus (born August 15, 1910 in Mauthen , Carinthia ; † July 25, 2001 in Vienna ) was an Austrian politician ( ÖVP ), governor of Salzburg from 1949–1961 and finance minister in the Gorbach government from 1961–1963 . 1964–1970 he was Austrian Chancellor .

Life

Josef Klaus was born the son of a master baker, his mother came from a family of mountain farmers. His father died early, which is why his mother had a special influence on him. Among other things, she taught her son the Italian language and shorthand at an early age . She also raised him to be very pious.

Josef Klaus attended the episcopal boys' seminar (Marianum) in Klagenfurt. As a student he was a member of the Catholic secondary school associations Gothia Klagenfurt (merged in 1946 into K.ö.St.V. Babenberg Klagenfurt) and K.ö.St.V. Almgau Salzburg ( MKV ). He then studied law in Vienna and in 1929 became a member of the KÖStV Rudolfina Vienna , which initially belonged to the CV during his active time , but co-founded the ÖCV in 1933 due to the synchronization in the Third Reich . He was also a member of the Catholic student associations AV Austria Innsbruck (ÖCV) and later the AV Edo-Rhenania zu Tokyo , a friendly association of the CV. As a board member of the German student body at the University of Vienna, Klaus signed a leaflet against a renowned Jewish pharmacologist in June 1932. This should consider “that the German students only recognize German teachers as their leaders!”. The German student body took the position "that professors of Jewish ethnicity are not allowed to hold academic positions".

Klaus was promoted to Dr. iur. PhD . At first he worked for Johann Staud in the trade union federation of the authoritarian corporate state and after a short time switched to the legal department of the Chamber of Labor , where he had to give way to the National Socialists in 1938. He worked in the private sector for about a year. In 1939 Klaus was drafted into the army. Among other things, he served on the staff of Panzer General Heinz Guderian . After the Second World War, he opened a law firm in Hallein in the state of Salzburg and in 1948 became ÖVP district chairman of the Tennengau region , from where he was able to quickly continue his political career.

“Reformer” in the ÖVP

Josef Klaus was the governor of Salzburg for many years (1949 to 1961) and a leading member of the Austrian People's Party. In the discussion phase after the resignation of State Treaty Chancellor Julius Raab , Klaus' influence as a representative of the young “reformers” grew. On April 11, 1961 he was appointed finance minister to the Gorbach I cabinet and negotiated a. a. the last replacement deliveries of Austrian crude oil to the Soviet Union at the end of February 20, 1964.

Large circles of the ÖVP were no longer satisfied with Gorbach's sedate political style: On September 20, 1963, the Klagenfurt Manifesto was adopted and Josef Klaus was elected federal party leader of the ÖVP. On February 25, 1964, Alfons Gorbach resigned as Chancellor and Klaus began negotiations on a new coalition government , which on April 2 was sworn in as the Klaus I cabinet . Bruno Pittermann ( SPÖ ), who raised the Habsburg question in the previous government and thus risked its existence, remained Vice Chancellor .

In December 1964, steps to solve the South Tyrol problem were agreed with Italy . In February 1965, a two-week state visit by the Shah of Persia, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , took place. In June and September 1965 there were floods in three and five federal states, respectively; an aid fund was established.

The coalition government he led resigned on October 23, 1965 after no agreement could be reached on the draft budget for 1966.

Chancellor of the first sole government since 1945

In the National Council election on March 6, 1966 , the ÖVP won an absolute majority for the first time since 1945, with 85 seats (+4). The SPÖ had not rejected an election recommendation by the KPÖ , which led commentators to speculate that the SPÖ could at best form a coalition with the KPÖ; this had unsettled many voters (SPÖ 74 seats (−2), FPÖ 6 (−2)). The ÖVP promised to move away from the unproductive style of government of the increasingly difficult ÖVP-SPÖ coalition . For this purpose the " Orientation 66 " was founded, in which many, according to ÖVP information, tens of thousands of young people took part in courses, discussions and workshops on domestic and material politics.

After six weeks of negotiations between the ÖVP and the SPÖ, the ÖVP sole government Klaus II was formed, the first democratic sole government since 1934. Fritz Bock became Vice Chancellor. With the Klaus government in 1966, after the 21-year-long grand coalition, a period of sole governments began (1966–1970 ÖVP, 1970–1983 SPÖ). In 1968, Vice Chancellor Bock, who was influenced by the grand coalition, was replaced by the more dynamic Hermann Withalm .

The Klaus government began ambitious reforms, especially in budget implementation and in the cooperation between science , art and politics. After a radio referendum pushed by newspapers against “proportional radio”, a new broadcasting law was passed in June 1966 against the will of the SPÖ , thus releasing the ORF into independence for a few years. (Later commentators noted that this exemplary state-political attitude of Klaus 'had harmed himself. The independent ORF had offered the opposition leader Bruno Kreisky, elected in 1967, excellent performance opportunities and thus enabled Klaus' defeat in 1970.)

In March 1967 the South Tyrol package was negotiated with Italy , in June the first steps towards membership in the EEC were taken , against which the SPÖ opposed (and which could therefore only be implemented 28 years later).

In mid-1968, the budget reform laws prepared by Finance Minister Stephan Koren were passed with a simple majority (85:77 votes), but unanimously a 10% politicians tax . The opposition heavily criticized the government's attempt to compensate for a budget deficit by increasing individual taxes. (The striving for balanced budgets was mostly formulated only as "lip service" by later governments.)

In May / June 1969 the government was reshuffled when Foreign Minister Lujo Tončić-Sorinj moved to the Council of Europe as Secretary General . Alois Mock became Austria's youngest Minister of Education . In January 1970 the Council of Ministers decided to merge the ÖMV with the Linz nitrogen works . The construction of the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant was decided under his government .

Ultimately, however, Klaus did not succeed in establishing his policy of objectivity in the long term. In the new media age, in which TV appearances counted more and more (Julius Raab had still scoffed at the “Bildradio”), the Chancellor proved to be too straightforward, brittle and not very eloquent. Its positive sides were not easy to convey in the media.

The "real Austrian" loses against the challenger

In the election campaign on March 1, 1970 , Josef Klaus was advertised as a real Austrian - an indirect allusion to the Jewish origins of opposition leader Kreisky, who advocated the modernization of the country. The SPÖ became the strongest party (mandates SPÖ 81, ÖVP 78, FPÖ 6); After seven weeks of negotiations with the ÖVP and FPÖ, Kreisky formed a minority cabinet on April 21, 1970, with the tolerance of the FPÖ. In 1971 the SPÖ achieved an absolute majority in the National Council. Josef Klaus resigned from the chairmanship of the ÖVP, his deputy Hermann Withalm took over this function.

criticism

Klaus was accused of having put the personnel decision “Klaus or Kreisky” in the foreground in the 1970 election campaign instead of factual politics and the new party program. Many also believed that his insistence on continuing his reform course in negotiations with the SPÖ was a mistake. Later, Klaus' personality was associated with dryness and complete absence of show talent and contrasted with the humorous nature and telegenicity of his successor. However, Klaus was attested to have pursued a very serious policy.

retirement

In September 1971 Klaus' book Macht und Ohnmacht in Österreich was published . In the following years he gave lectures and seminars and took part in official state acts even in old age. In contrast to many resigned politicians, as a pensioner he almost never commented on current political issues and did not give unsolicited advice.

After retiring from politics, Josef Klaus lived with his wife in Italy for a long time. In 1995 the couple moved to a retirement home in Vienna- Döbling . Erna Klaus died at the beginning of 2001. A few months later, on July 25, 2001, Josef Klaus also died. The funeral took place on August 1, 2001, his honorary grave is in the Grinzinger Friedhof (group 19, number 29). The soul mass in Vienna 's St. Stephen's Cathedral on September 11, 2001 coincided with the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center . During the fair, the pummerin was rung unscheduled.

Awards

Grave of Josef Klaus

Fonts

  • Power and powerlessness in Austria. Confrontations and attempts. Molden, Vienna 1971, ISBN 3-217-00346-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "The Federal Chancellor from Salzburg"  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ). In: Salzburger Nachrichten. 17th August 2010.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / search.salzburg.com
  2. ^ Klaus Taschwer : Anti-Semitic addresses in Vienna. In: derStandard.at . July 23, 2012, accessed August 18, 2020.
  3. ↑ VP Dispute over election: January or March? In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna October 24, 1965, p. 1 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).

literature

  • Helmut Wohnout (Hg): Democracy and History. Yearbook of the Karl von Vogelsang Institute for Research into the History of Christian Democracy in Austria, Volume 3, Böhlau Wien-Graz 1999, in it a biographical interview

Web links

Commons : Josef Klaus  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Klaus, Josef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian politician (ÖVP), member of the National Council and Federal Chancellor
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Kötschach-Mauthen
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 2001
Place of death Vienna