The United States of Greater Austria is a federal constitutional monarchy, established on October 31, 1919 as the successor state to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The technical head of state is the Emperor, currently Karl II of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, with most of the governmental power being vested in the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is nominated by the Parliament of Greater Austria, the nations federal legislative body, and is approved by the Emperor. The current Prime Minister is Werner Faymann, a member of the Social Democratic Party of Greater Austria, and has been in this position since a federal election in 2008. Austria is a part of the Triple Alliance, alongside Germany and Italy, which have been the primary powers in Europe since the end of World War I.