appealing to an anti-clerical middle class, and Catholic social reformers such as L. Psenner and A. Latschka created the Christian Social Association (Christlich-Sozialer Verein) (1887). Around the same time F. Piffl, F. Stauracz, Ae. Schoepfer, A. Opitz, Karl Lueger and Prince Aloys Liechtenstein formed the United Christians (Vereinigten Christen) to advocate Christian social reform. These two organisations merged in 1891 under Karl Lueger to form the Christian Social Party (Christlichsoziale Partei, CS). However the Taaffe government's policy of ethnic inclusiveness fuelled nationalism among the German-speaking population. The Liberals had maintained the strong centralism of the absolutist era (with the exception of Galicia in 1867) while the Conservatives attempted a more federalist state that ultimately led to the fall of the Taaffe government in 1893, including a second attempt at Bohemian Ausgleich (Tripartite monarchy) in 1890 (Grandner 1997). On the left the spread of anarchical ideas and oppressive government saw the emergence of a Marxist Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) in 1889 which succeeded in winning seats in the 1897 elections which followed further extension of suffrage in 1896 to include peasants and the working classes, establishing universal male suffrage, though not equal. Direct and equal suffrage for the Reichsrat (1907) The universal male suffrage introduced in 1907 by Minister-President Freiherr von Beck changed the balance of power, formally tilted towards German Austrians, and revealed that they were now a minority in a predominantly Slavic empire. In the 1900 census, Germans were 36% of the Cisleithanian population but the largest single group, but never acted as a cohesive group (nor did any other national group), although they were the dominant group in the political life of the monarchy. Germans were followed by Czechs and Slovaks (23%), Poles (17), Ruthenians (13), Slovenes (5), Serbo-Croats (3), Italians (3) and Romanians 1%. However these national groups, especially the Germans were often scattered geographically. The Germans also dominated economically, and in level of education. The post reform 1907 parliament (Reichsrat) was elected along national lines, with only the Christian-Social and Social Democrat parties predominantly German. However Austria was governed by the Emperor who appointed the Imperial Council of Ministers (Ministerrat), who in turn answered to him, parliament being left free to criticise government policy. Technically it had the power to legislate from 1907, but in practice the Imperial government generated its own legislation, and the Emperor could veto his own minister's bills. The