SOCIAL REFORMS IN AUSTRIA.

• Position: Brief article

Austria's new Social Democrat Chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, who heads a coalition with outgoing Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel's Christian Democrats (OVP), presented to parliament, on 16 January, a government programme with a decidedly social twist. It introduces, in particular, a minimum salary of 1,000. "We want to strengthen individual initiative while offering as much social protection as possible," declared the Social Democrat (SPO) leader. Gusenbauer also announced the creation of a minimum old age' benefit of 726 a month and a parental leave cheque of 800 for...