740.00119 Control (Austria)/12–1345: Telegram
The United States Political Adviser for Austrian Affairs (Erhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 15—10:58 a.m.]
564. Upon receipt Dept’s 347 of December 9, 9 p.m. US element had activity of political parties removed from Executive Committee agenda for December 14.
However, it is hoped Dept will approve restitution to EC agenda for December 17 meeting in time for Allied Council meeting December 20 for following reasons:
Only change proposed is that Council not be required formally to approve or disapprove applications for political parties to carry on activity as required by paragraph 3 of September 11 proclamation of Allied Council.54 Parties would still be authorized to carry on political activity provided they were within policy stipulated in paragraph 1 thereof, i.e., Democratic, anti-Nazi, do not disturb public order or carry on activities against any occupying power or its troops, and are pledged to strengthening and maintenance of a free and independent Austria.
Present paragraph 3 of September 11 proclamation requires parties: other than Communist, Socialist and Peoples Parties to obtain final Council approval before they can exist or carry on activities throughout Austria even if they do conform to those principles.
[Page 684]The 14 or more applications that have been received have been examined already and found for the most part to represent unknown and unimportant small groups. It would be undesirable for the Council formally to approve them thus giving advertisement that Allied Council endorses them, and equally undesirable for Council formally to disapprove them and thus lay itself open to charge that it was [,] contrary to basic JCS directive [,] suppressing free political activity by Democratic parties which do conform to all principles mentioned above. Some delegations have already interpreted Council’s proclamation as “establishing dictatorship of the three authorized parties”. In view of present majority of Volkspartei and its vulnerability to attack as associated with former Austro-Fascist regime, the Council’s present position of forbidding nationwide activity by other parties than this one plus the Socialist and Communist Parties would be susceptible of undesirable comment.
As a matter of practical administration it has proven and will probably continue to prove impossible for the Allied Council to take formal action on any or at least most applications before it for reasons stated, with undesirable consequent suppression of unobjectionable though inconsequential movements contrary to provisions of JCS directive on revival of political life.
Quadripartite Political Division had, therefore, unanimously agreed a [on?] recommendation to the Executive Committee that paragraph 3 of September 11 proclamation be cancelled and replaced by simple requirement that new parties file programs and data with Council for its information, thus relieving Council of necessity of either approving or suppressing applications made in good faith although often by inconsequential groups.
British are pressing for immediate action by Executive Committee and Council because they find present position untenable and intolerable.
Does Dept approve restoration of this recommendation to Executive Committee agenda for December 17?
- The proclamation is printed in the Gazette of the Allied Commission for Austria, No. 1 (December 1945–January 1946), p. 26.↩