Breisky government
The Breisky government was a very short caretaker government in Austria, lasting about 24 hours from January 26 to January 27, 1922. It formed when Chancellor Johannes Schober stepped down to end a weakening coalition with the Greater German People’s Party. President Michael Hainisch appointed Walter Breisky, the vice chancellor, as the interim head of government. Within less than a day, the coalition partners decided there was no better alternative, revived the coalition, and Schober returned as chancellor on January 27.
Background
Schober’s first government, sworn in June 1921, was a center-right coalition with the Christian Social Party and the Greater German People’s Party, but it was meant to be largely nonpartisan. In December 1921, Austria and Czechoslovakia signed the Treaty of Lana, in which Austria pledged to honor the Treaty of Saint-Germain and not seek unification with Germany; Czechoslovakia promised a loan. The Greater German People’s Party opposed Lana and protested, eventually withdrawing its representative from Schober’s cabinet on January 16, 1922. Although the party left the cabinet, Schober remained in place until January 26, 1922, when he resigned to appease them.
The Breisky government
The Breisky cabinet consisted of Walter Breisky and seven other ministers who had served in Schober’s government. Breisky held multiple roles at once—he was chancellor and also acted as minister in charge of education, interior, and foreign affairs at different times—while continuing to serve as vice chancellor.
Ratification of Lana and after
On January 26, the Treaty of Lana was ratified with the votes of the Christian Socials and Social Democrats; the Greater German People’s Party voted against it. After the ratification, there was pressure for Schober to return, which he did the next day. Breisky went back to his previous roles as vice chancellor and state secretary of education, and the Breisky government effectively ended.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:14 (CET).