thought of as its lack of unity and discipline; he ridiculed its members for their poverty. Even though he vocally despised leading Social Democrats such as Otto Bauer and Robert Danneberg, and the Arbeiter-Zeitung reciprocated with a string of personal attacks, Streeruwitz thought highly of Karl Renner and was ready to work with the opposing side if common ground could be found. In his years as a legislator, Streeruwitz rarely rose to speak in plenary sessions but was active in several committees. He helped draft a number of significant statutes and published numerous opinion pieces arguing his policy positions. Streeruwitz fought, in particular, for protective tariffs. Postwar hyperinflation was causing the country to be flooded with cheap imported goods. The glut endangered Austria's struggling manufacturing sector, but the country was largely defenseless because of a number of free trade agreements that the empire's successor states had hastily concluded immediately after its collapse. Tariffs were controversial on both sides of the political spectrum. Labour politicians feared rising consumer prices. Shareholders of corporations that had become involuntary multinationals with the disintegration of the empire were worried about their interests abroad. Streeruwitz won, and in 1925, significant customs barriers were put in place. Streeruwitz's second main concern was banking supervision. The hyperinflation of the 1920s caused a number of banks to fail but mostly only because the sector had already weakened beem from years of corruption and general mismanagement. Social Democrats and German Nationalists demanded a rigorous crackdown. Streeruwitz's own proposals, although moderate in comparison, were met with fierce opposition from within his own party. The National Council eventually passed a bill that tightened the screws, but the statute was too little, too late. Streeruwitz's failure indirectly caused the collapse of a bank owned by Anton Rintelen, the powerful governor of Styria. The lasting enmity of Rintelen that Streeruwitz thus earned for himself would later contribute to his downfall. Chancellor Still an outsider with no credible personal power base, Streeruwitz abruptly became chancellor in May 1929. The Federal Constitutional Law of 1920 established Austria as an archetypal parliamentary republic. The positions of president and chancellor were separate. Both president and chancellor were chosen by the legislature and so neither of them had the prestige and authority that results from direct popular election. The president had considerable reserve powers but was expected to confine himself to acting as a figurehead. The chancellor was politically