Engelbert Dollfuss, an Austrian statesman and chancellor of Austria, destroyed the Austrian Republic, establishing an authoritarian regime based on conservative Roman Catholic and Italian Fascist views.

Faced with an economic crisis precipitated by the Great Depression, Dollfuss decided against joining Germany in a customs union. He was, in part, deterred by a League of Nations loan and by the fear of Allied countermeasures. Severely criticized, he countered by drifting toward an increasingly authoritarian regime. Benito Mussolini, the Italian Leader, became his principal foreign ally. Italy’s role was to guarantee Austrian independence at Riccione. However, in return Austria had to abolish all political parties and reform its constitution.