German nationalism in Austria an independent Austria, rejected his merger proposal, Strasser said "Don't talk to me about Austria. There is no Austria ... there was once a living corpse which called itself Austria ... that this Austria collapsed in 1918 was a blessing ... particularly for the German people, who were thereby given the chance to create a Greater Germany." After this, tensions between the Nazis and Austrofascists worsened, culminating in the July Putsch of 1934, when Nazis attempted to overthrow the government. Whilst they managed to assassinate chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, the putsch was quickly crushed by the police, army, and Heimwehren. In
Politics of Austria National opinion polls or consultative referenda are held, unlike referenda, before the National Council passes a law. Its results are not legally binding. As of 2015, there has only been one national opinion poll. The People's Party ("Österreichische Volkspartei", or ÖVP) was found by leaders of the former Christian Social Party in 1945 as a conservative/Centre-right party with loose ties to the Catholic Church. Between 1945 and 1970 it provided the Chancellor of Austria and since 1987 it has continuously been in government, its leader Wolfgang Schüssel being Chancellor between 2000 and 2007. It finds support from farmers, large and