Austria was under the occupation of the Allies from 1945 until 1955. After World War II, Germany was divided into two zones, whereas Austria, though an independent state again, was divided into four zones, as well as Vienna, representing the four Allies of Russia, America, France and Britain. Austria took part in the ‘economic miracle’ of the Cold War, and most of the 20th Century, with the aid of the Marshall Plan, though this period was full of violent political conflict. The tolerance of the first republic had been completely forgotten and replaced by a strict, democratic second republic.

The Austrian State Treaty established the country as a sovereign state in 1955. The country was proclaimed and recognised as being ‘neutral’ by other countries. The political system adopted a Proporz doctrine, or coalition, which came from the need of a balanced consensual governance, when Austria wanted to rebuild after the destruction of the Second World War. Proporz assured that political positions were split evenly between members of the Socialist (SPÖ) and Conservative (ÖVP) parties. Interest group representations (workers, farmers, businesspeople) with mandatory membership grew to significant importance and were consulted in the legislative process. The consensus systems and Proporz shared equal power between 1966 and 1983, when non-coalition governments existed.

In recent years, Austria’s policies have been characterised by stability and economic growth. It joined the European Union (EU) in 1995 and entered the Eurozone in 1999, adopting the euro currency union. It was decided, too, that the SPÖ and ÖVP parties would form a coalition, with SPÖ leader Alfred Gusenbauer as the Chancellor of Austria.