And it further weakened the old patronage system of Proporz, whereby many public-sector jobs, from drivers and janitors to head teachers and diplomats, were carved up between members of the two main parties.

ECONOMIST: Austria's collapsing government: Back to square one | The

The more respectable reasons include his party's opposition to the time-dishonoured system of Proporz, whereby the two hitherto main parties carved up just about all public-sector jobs, from ambassadors to health inspectors, between them.

ECONOMIST: Austria

They despise it for the cosy relations it had with East European dictators during the cold war and deride its heavily regulated economy and its system of Proporz, whereby its two main parties share the spoils of patronage, from ambassadors to secretaries.

ECONOMIST: Austria and its eastern neighbours | The