(VIENNA) - Austria's Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer tapped into anti-EU sentiment last week in a bid to shore up his tenuous position, announcing that all future European treaties would be subject to a referendum.

But the unilateral move by the chancellor, who was recently dumped as head of his Social Democratic party, caused further division within the coalition government that is in the midst of pushing through unpopular reforms.

Gusenbauer made the surprise announcement Thursday, without consulting his conservative coalition partners, in an open letter to the editor of the eurosceptic Kronen Zeitung tabloid.

"A lot of people have the impression that the EU isn't dealing with their problems but only cares about itself," he wrote, a fact borne out by a recent Eurobarometer poll that showed only 28 percent of Austrians had a positive image of the European Union, the lowest opinion among the 27 EU member states.

Gusenbauer's move prompted a wave of criticism however, led by the Social Democrats' coalition partner in government, the conservative People's Party.

Conservative Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik spoke of "a panic attack at the top of the government, an intellectual and political short circuit."

"This way of working doesn't solve anything, look at Ireland. On the contrary it only creates more uncertainty instead of giving people more confidence," she added.

Vice-chancellor Wilhelm Molterer, also a conservative, meanwhile argued that the move was tantamount to treason as Gusenbauer disregarded the traditional consensus between Social Democrats and the People's Party on European matters.

It was a "serious mistake" to "respond to populist demands," he noted.

Even the far-right opposition, which favoured a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty that was ratified by the Austrian parliament, criticised the chancellor's move.

"If he were serious, he would have held a referendum on the ratification," said Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache, adding that Gusenbauer's announcement was just that of a man "who may very soon no longer be in power."

The chancellor's ratings have indeed suffered a severe dip and his latest move could mean that new elections could be held soon, two years early.

The Social Democratic parties in five of Austria's nine provinces have already said they no longer trust Gusenbauer.

Among others, he antagonised Vienna's powerful mayor and governor Michael Haeupl by opting for a two-pronged leadership of the party, with Transport Minister Werner Faymann leading the Social Democrats while Gusenbauer remains head of the government.

According to a recent poll, over half of Austrians said they wanted another chancellor after the next elections.

Gusenbauer last week cancelled the chancellor's annual summer reception, saying "there is no reason to have a party," but Austrian media said he simply wanted to avoid the humiliation of having his own party colleagues boycott the event.

But Gusenbauer has not admitted defeat yet.

"What is more important than polls is to try to find good solutions to challenges like health reform, tax reform and a solution to inflation," he said.

The government's track record has been less than impressive since it came to power in January 2007, however.

The majority of Austria's 15,000 medical practices went on strike Thursday and Friday to protest what they saw as unacceptable health reform proposals.

But while both parties have been sparring for months, neither has been keen to seek early elections due to low poll numbers.

According to a recent survey by the weekly Profil, each party would be able to count on barely 33 percent of the vote.

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