Anton Franz (1922-29 November 1993) was an Austrian OVP politician who served as Chancellor of Austria from 23 April 1990 to 29 November 1993, preceding Laurenz Hamerling. Franz was a Christian democrat whose premiership saw Austria adopt social programs such as bus, organ donations, public housing, scholarships, and environmental education, while also voting against legalizing same-sex marriages. Franz's tenure was also marked by occasional economic instability and the rise of the FPO, which had surpassed the OVP as the largest party in parliament by the time of Franz's death in 1993.
Biography[]
Anton Franz was born in Innsbruck, Austria in 1922, the son of a hotel owner. Franz came from a Catholic conservative family, and, while he joined the Hitler Youth and eventually the Nazi Party as a young man, he was never fully convinced of their national socialist program. Franz served in the Wehrmacht during World War II and was captured by the Allies in the Falaise Gap campaign of 1944. After the war, Franz joined the Christian democratic Austrian People's Party (OVP), rising in its ranks. In 1990, he led his party to win 37.74% of the vote and 13/35 seats in the National Council at that year's elections; the SPO came in second with 37.04% and 13/35 seats, followed by the FPO with 16.56% and 6/35 seats and The Greens - The Green Alternative with 8.66% and 3/35 seats. Franz and SPO leader Viktor Gruber each received 17 votes of support, as OVP lawmaker Lia Schifter was absent during the vote and FPO lawmaker Klaus Bohater broke with his party to back Gruber over Franz. Franz, as the leader of the largest party, formed a minority government with the support of the rest of the FPO.
Premiership[]

Franz's first parliament as Chancellor
Franz inherited a budget of €160 million with a weekly increase of €5 million, as well as a happy population. During Franz's premiership, the National Council voted 32-0 for an ambulance service, 33-1 for a bus transport service, 31-1 for public housing, 29-3 for arts subsidies, 27-6 for environmental education, 21-8 for an organ donation program, and 19-9 for a church tax.
On 18 February 1991, new elections were held, by which time the budget had fallen to €71 million with a weekly decline of €2 million. The OVP fell to 36.92% of the vote (-.82%) and 13/35 seats, followed by the SPO with 33.3% (-3.74%) and 12/35 seats (-1 seat), the FPO with 23.85% (+7.29%) and 8/35 seats (+2 seats), and the Greens with 5.92% (-2.74%) and 2/35 seats (-1 seat). The FPO were the only winners of the election, as their economic populism attracted support from SPO voters, Green voters hoping to rally the left switched to voting SPO, and OVP voters sympathetic to the increasingly electable FPO voted for the OVP's coalition partners. The strengthened right-wing had the votes to land Franz in the chancellorship, with 19 votes for Franz and 11 for Gruber.
Franz's main priority during the second term was economic recovery, as the economy slowly drifted towards a recession. The Council voted 21-2 to keep the bus service (with 8 FPO abstentions), 22-4 to keep public housing, 21-8 to fund a scholarship program, 27-0 for an alcohol tax, 15-10 for fishing regulations, 18-9 for a land tax, and 17-11 for a national football league; after this slew of legislation, the economy fell into a depression, stabilizing at a deficit of €5 million before the taxes took effect and began the road to recovery. The Council also voted 15-12 for a coffee tax, 20-8 against a one-child policy, 15-11 against a consumption tax, 22-7 for a child benefit program, and 29-2 for a pollution tax.
On 1 January 1992, new elections were held, and the FPO again surged in popularity. The OVP fell to 33.83% (-3.09%) and 12/35 seats (-1 seat), the SPO fell to 28.07% (-5.23%) and 10/35 seats (-2 seats), the FPO rose to 26.69% (+2.84%) and 9/35 seats (+1 seat), and the Greens rose to 11.41% (+5.49%) and 4/35 seats (+2 seats). The increasing popularity of environmentalism caused a groundswell of Green support, with the Greens stealing a significant number of SPO voters. Meanwhile, the FPO continued to lure away OVP voters as it increasingly became the dominant force on the right. Franz was re-elected with 20 votes to Gruber's 13.

Franz's third parliament
Franz prioritized continued economic growth during his third term, as the budget had reached €7 million, with a weekly increase of €2 million. The Council voted 19-11 against a stamp duty, 18-9 to host the Olympics, 28-1 for a dog license, 27-2 for a travel visa program, 25-5 for an air pollution monitor, 24-5 for the death penalty, 25-3 for a robbery penalty, 27-2 for a postal service, 18-13 to abolish the scholarship program (as a means of funding law enforcement), and 24-6 for a car tax.
On 9 November 1992, new elections were held as the economy plunged into a steep depression, with a deficit of €45 million that worsened by €1 million each week. The OVP rose to 35.15% (+1.32%) and 12/35 seats, the FPO rose to 27.47% (+.78%) and 10/35 seats (+1 seat), the SPO fell to 25.22% (-2.85%) and 9/35 seats (-1 seat), and the Greens rose to 12.16% (+.75%) and 4/35 seats. The FPO's single seat gain thrust the SPO into a humiliating third place, enabling FPO leader Felix Reinhardt to stake his own claim to the chancellorship in opposition to Franz. However, the other parties formed a cordon sanitaire around the far-right FPO, voting 22-10 to re-elect Franz over Reinhardt.
Franz's fourth term was marked by a slow climb out of the recession. The Council voted 21-8 against same-sex marriage (with only the Greens and half of the Social Democrats supporting it), 23-5 for a school bus tax, 18-9 to scrap arts subsidies, 20-1 to raise the constitutional amendment threshold to 75%, 22-3 for a consumption tax, and 20-9 to bring back the scholarship.
On 27 September 1993, new elections were held. The FPO rocketed into first place with 32.46% (+4.99%) of the vote and 11/35 seats (+1 seat), followed by the OVP with 31.25% (-3.9%) and 11/35 seats (-1 seat), the SPO with 22.51% (-2.71%) and 8/35 seats (-1 seat), and the Greens with 13.78% (+1.62%) and 5/35 seats (+1 seat). The trauma of the economic depression survived even as the economy skyrocketed to a budget of €76 million with a weekly increase of €5 million, and conservative voters punished the OVP by voting FPO; the Greens continued to steal Social Democratic voters in big cities. On 11 October 1993, Franz was again elected Chancellor with the support of 19 MPs to Reinhardt's 14; half of the Greens supported the FPO, but the rest of the council continued to isolate the radical FPO.
Franz continued to prioritize economic growth during his fifth term, as the budget reached €86 million with a weekly improvement of €5 million. The Council voted 14-12 against raising the electoral threshold from 5% to 10%, 15-8 to implement highway tolls, and 18-14 against a 5-seat election majority bonus. On 29 November 1993, Franz suddenly died at the age of 71.