Change of Command in Austria

E. v. KUEHNELT-LEDDIHN

In Austria, one of the most sensitive points in Europe before the last war, a change has taken place which may prove to be significant. Because of ill health, Chancellor Raab has resigned and nominated his successor, Dr. Alphons Gorbach, thus maintaining his strong hold on the party. Gorbach, a rather colorful personality, lost a leg as an officer in 1917, and after World War I was graduated a doctor of civil and canon law. As a political leader with strong Catholic convictions, he was arrested after the Anschluss and served two long stretches in Dachau. His ability to survive this ordeal is an indication of his toughness. Liberated by the Americans, he immediately returned to politics and became the third president of the Austrian Diet. Unlike a number of former concentration camp inmates, he vigorously opposed the persecution and punishment of Nazis. In February 1960 he was elected chairman of the People’s Party (Volkspartei), the right-wing partner in the coalition government, and he now combines the positions of party chairman and Federal Chancellor. Soon after his nomination, he made an interesting and widely-acclaimed declaration on the nature of his party’s coalition with the Socialists, and stressed the need to maintain a genuine separation of powers. Gorbach has an anti-Nazi record which, combined with his tolerant attitude toward former Nazis, makes him an ideal party leader, if for no other purpose than to win elections.

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Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

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E. v. KUEHNELT-LEDDIHN

In Austria, one of the most sensitive points in Europe before the last war, a change has taken place which may prove to be significant. Because of ill health, Chancellor Raab has resigned and nominated his successor, Dr. Alphons Gorbach, thus maintaining his strong hold on the party. Gorbach, a rather colorful personality, lost a leg as an officer in 1917, and after World War I was graduated a doctor of civil and canon law. As a political leader with strong Catholic convictions, he was arrested after the Anschluss and served two long stretches in Dachau. His ability to survive this ordeal is an indication of his toughness. Liberated by the Americans, he immediately returned to politics and became the third president of the Austrian Diet. Unlike a number of former concentration camp inmates, he vigorously opposed the persecution and punishment of Nazis. In February 1960 he was elected chairman of the People’s Party (Volkspartei), the right-wing partner in the coalition government, and he now combines the positions of party chairman and Federal Chancellor. Soon after his nomination, he made an interesting and widely-acclaimed declaration on the nature of his party’s coalition with the Socialists, and stressed the need to maintain a genuine separation of powers. Gorbach has an anti-Nazi record which, combined with his tolerant attitude toward former Nazis, makes him an ideal party leader, if for no other purpose than to win elections.