1953 Austrian legislative election

The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1953 were the first National Council elections after World War II in which the Socialist Party managed to gain a bare plurality of votes, the first time it had won the most votes in an election since 1920. However, the Austrian People's Party retained a one-seat plurality. The grand coalition between the two parties was continued with Julius Raab replacing Leopold Figl as Chancellor of Austria, who had had to resign after facing criticism from his own party, and Adolf Schärf of the Socialist Party remaining Vice Chancellor.[1][2]

1953 Austrian legislative election

22 February 1953
165 seats in the National Council of Austria 83 seats needed for a majority
Leader Leopold Figl Adolf Schärf Party ÖVP SPÖ Leader since 20 December 1945 15 December 1945 Last election 77 seats, 44.03% 67 seats, 38.71% Seats won 74 73 Seat change 3 6 Popular vote 1,781,777 1,818,517 Percentage 41.26% 42.11% Swing 2.77% 3.40%   Leader Herbert Kraus Johann Koplenig Party VdU KPÖ Leader since 25 March 1949 1924 Last election 16, 11.67% 5 seats, 5.08% Seats won 14 4 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 472,866 228,159 Percentage 10.95% 5.28% Swing 0.72% 0.20%
Chancellor before election Leopold Figl ÖVP Elected Chancellor Julius Raab ÖVP

Results

 Summary of the 22 February 1953 National Council of Austria election results

Parties		Votes	+/-	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Socialist Party of Austria (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs)	1,818,517	+194,993	42.11	+3.4	73	+6
	Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei)	1,781,777	-64,804	41.26	-2.7	74	-3
	Electoral Party of Independents (Wahlpartei der Unabhängigen)	472,866	-16,407	10.95	-0.8	14	-2
	Communist Party of Austria (Kommunistische Partei Österreichs)¹	228,159	+15,093	5.28	+0.2	4	-1
	Bipartisan Agreement of the Centre	5,809		0.1		0
	Christian Democratic Party	3,668		0.1		0
	Christian Social Party and Non-Party Personalities	3,029		0.1		0
	Free Democrats	2,573		0.1		0
	Association of Austrian Monarchists	1,210		0.0		0
	Austrian National Republicans and Independents	1,054		0.0		0
	Austrian Patriotic Party	26	+26	0.0	–	0	0
Invalid/blank votes		76,831	–	–	–	–	–
Total (turnout 95.8%)		4,395,519		100		165
¹ Contested the election as Electoral group Austrian People's Opposition (Wahlgemeinschaft Österreichische Volksopposition)
Source: Source: Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. p. 214.

Popular vote SPÖ   42.11% ÖVP   41.26% VdU   10.95% VO   5.28% Other   0.40%

Parliamentary seats ÖVP   44.85% SPÖ   44.24% VdU   8.48% VO   2.42%

References

1. Encyclopedia of Austria - Leopold Figl, retrieved 19 May 2010
2. Austrian Federal Chancellery - Austrian Chancellors and Cabinets since 1945 Archived 2013-12-26 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 19 May 2010