Freedom Party of Austria
Encyclopedia
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria
. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal
camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions
. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents
(VdU), which had been founded seven years earlier. In the Austrian political landscape, the FPÖ was from its foundation a third party
with only modest support until it entered into government together with the Social Democratic Party
(SPÖ) in the mid-1980s.
When Jörg Haider
was chosen as new FPÖ party leader in 1986, the party started a political and ideological journey which was described by observers as representing a turn towards right-wing populism
. This new political course soon resulted in a strong surge in electoral support for the party, although it also led the SPÖ to break its ties. In 1993, after a controversial proposal on immigration issues, the adherents of a position closer to classical liberalism
in the FPÖ broke away and formed the (now-marginalized) Liberal Forum
(LiF). This new party took over the FPÖ's membership in the Liberal International
, since the FPÖ considered itself forced to leave.
In the 1999 legislative election
, the FPÖ won its best-ever result in a national election with 26.9% of the vote and defeated the Austrian People's Party
(ÖVP) by a small margin. This led the ÖVP to agree to form a coalition government with the FPÖ. The coalition was initially subject to sanctions from the European Union
, which claimed that the coalition was "legitimis[ing] the extreme right in Europe." The FPÖ soon became uncomfortable with its new government position and fell sharply in support in the 2002 election
, where it gained only 10% of the vote. The two parties agreed to continue their coalition following the election; however, increasing internal disagreements in the FPÖ led Haider and many leading party members (including the FPÖ part of the government) to defect from the party in 2005. They formed a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria
(BZÖ), which replaced the FPÖ as government partner with the ÖVP. Since then, the chairman of the FPÖ has been Heinz-Christian Strache
and the party has again attracted an increase in its popular support.
camp (Lager) dating back to the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
. During the interwar era, the national liberal camp (gathered in the Greater German People's Party
) fought against the mutually-hostile Christian Social and Marxist
camps in their struggles to structure the new republic according to their respective ideologies. After a short civil war
, the Federal State of Austria
, an authoritarian Christian Social dictatorship, was established in 1934. By 1938, with the Anschluss
of Austria into Nazi Germany
, the national liberal camp (which had always striven for an inclusion of Austria into a Greater Germany
) had been swallowed whole by National Socialism and all other parties were eventually absorbed into Nazi totalitarianism. Both Socialists and Christian Socials were persecuted under the Nazi regime, and the national liberal camp was scarred after the war due to guilt by association
with National Socialism.
In 1949, the Federation of Independents
(VdU) was founded as a national liberal alternative to the main Austrian parties—the Social Democratic Party
(SPÖ) and the Austrian People's Party
(ÖVP), successors to the interwar era Marxist and Christian Social parties. The VdU was founded by two liberal Salzburg
journalists—former Nazi Germany prisoners—who wanted to stay clear of the mainstream socialist
and Catholic camps and feared that hostility following the hastily devised postwar denazification
policy (which did not distinguish between party members and actual war criminals) might stimulate a revival of Nazism. Functioning as a political home to everyone not a member of the two main parties, the VdU incorporated an array of political movements—including free-market liberals, populists, former Nazis and German nationalists, all of whom had been unable to join either of the two main parties. The VdU won 12% of the vote in the 1949 general election, but saw its support beginning to decline soon afterward. It evolved into the FPÖ by 1955/56 after merging with the minor Freedom Party in 1955; a new party was formed on 17 October 1955, and its founding congress was held on 7 April 1956.
, a former Nazi Minister of Agriculture and SS officer. He had been asked by ÖVP Chancellor Julius Raab
to take over the movement rather than let it be led by a more socialist-leaning group. While the majority of former Nazis had probably joined the two main parties in absolute numbers, they formed a greater percentage of FPÖ members due to the party's small size. Nevertheless, none of them were real revolutionaries and they pursued pragmatic, non-ideological policies. The FPÖ served as a vehicle for them to integrate in the Second Republic; the party was a welcome partner with both the SPÖ and ÖVP in regional and local politics, although it was excluded at the national level. The ÖVP and the FPÖ ran a joint candidate for the 1957 presidential election, who lost.
Reinthaller was replaced as leader in 1958 by Friedrich Peter
(also a former SS officer), who led the party through the 1960s and 1970s and moved it towards the political centre. In 1966 the ÖVP-SPÖ Grand Coalition
which had governed Austria since the war was broken, when the ÖVP gained enough votes to govern alone. SPÖ leader Bruno Kreisky
(himself a Jew) defended Peter's past and initiated a political relationship—and a personal friendship—with Peter; in 1970 the FPÖ was, for the first time, able to tolerate an SPÖ minority government
. In 1967 the more extreme faction in the FPÖ broke away and established the National Democratic Party, seen by some observers as a final shedding of the party's Nazi legacy. Under the influence of Kreisky, a new generation of liberals brought the FPÖ into the Liberal International
in 1978. During the years under Peter the party never won more than 8% of the national vote in general elections, and generally did not have much political significance.
was chosen as new FPÖ party leader in 1980; in an effort to gain popularity, he helped the FPÖ become established as a moderate centrist liberal party. His vision was to transform the FPÖ into an Austrian version of the German Free Democratic Party
, focusing on free-market and anti-statist policies. In the 1980s, the Austrian political system began to change; the dominance of the SPÖ and ÖVP started to erode, and the Austrian electorate began to swing to the right. SPÖ leader Bruno Kreisky had encouraged the FPÖ's move to the centre, in order to establish an SPÖ-FPÖ alliance against the ÖVP. The 1983 general election was a watershed; the SPÖ lost its absolute majority in Parliament, which resulted in the formation of an SPÖ-FPÖ "Small Coalition". Ironically, the 1983 election result was the worst for the FPÖ in its history (it received slightly less than 5% of the vote), and during the next few years the party saw 2-3% support—or even less—in opinion polls. As a consequence, the party was soon torn by internal strife.
In 1983, the right-wing Jörg Haider
took over the leadership of the FPÖ's significant Carinthia
branch. Its importance dated to the Kärntner Abwehrkampf (Carinthian defensive struggle) following World War I
, and subsequent anti-Slavic
sentiment arising from a fear of being taken over by Yugoslavia
. Encouraged by the mass media
, a struggle soon developed between Steger and Haider over the future of the party. In the 1985 Reder case, for instance, Haider staunchly supported FPÖ Minister of Defence Friedhelm Frischenschlager when the latter welcomed convicted Waffen-SS
war criminal Walter Reder
in person when Reder arrived at Graz Airport
after his release from Italy. While the FPÖ struggled with its low support at the national level in the mid-1980s, this was in sharp contrast to the party's position in Haider's Carinthia (where the party had increased its support from 11.7% in the 1979 provincial election to 16% in 1984).
During the 1986 National Convention in Innsbruck
, the internal struggle developed into an open conflict; this led Haider to victory as new FPÖ party leader with 58% of the vote, supported by conservative
and pan-German
factions. However, incoming SPÖ Chancellor Franz Vranitzky
—who also entered office in 1986—had strong negative feelings towards Haider, whom he felt was too far-right. Vranitzky subsequently announced an election in 1986, in the process disbanding the SPÖ-FPÖ "Small Coalition" and, after the election, entered into a coalition with the ÖVP. Under Haider's leadership, the FPÖ increased its vote to 9.7%, while the party gradually became more right-wing and its former liberal influence waned. As the FPÖ increased its electoral support with Haider's radical-populist rhetoric, the party reduced its chances of forming coalitions with other parties.
With Jörg Haider
as the new party leader, the 1989 Carinthia provincial election caused a sensation; the SPÖ lost its majority
and the ÖVP was relegated to third-party status, as the FPÖ finished second with 29% of the vote. The FPÖ formed a coalition with the ÖVP, with Haider as Governor of Carinthia (at this point his greatest political triumph). By the 1990 general election
the party had moved away from the liberal mainstream course, instead focusing on immigration
and becoming increasingly critical of the political establishment and the EU. Following a remark made by Haider in 1991 about the "decent employment policy" of Nazi Germany
(in contrast to that of the current Austrian government), he was removed as governor by a joint SPÖ-ÖVP initiative and replaced by the ÖVP's Christof Zernatto. Later that year, however, the FPÖ saw gains made in three provincial elections (most notably in Vienna
).
While Haider often employed controversial rhetoric, his expressed political goals included small government with more direct democracy
rather than centralized totalitarianism. Following the increasing importance of immigration as a political issue, in 1993 the party decided to launch the "Austria First!" initiative (calling for a referendum
on immigration issues). The initiative was controversial and five FPÖ MPs, including Heide Schmidt
, left the party and founded the Liberal Forum
(LiF). The FPÖ's relations with the Liberal International
also became increasingly strained, and later that year the FPÖ left the LI (which was preparing to expel it). In turn, the LiF soon joined the Liberal International instead. In 1999, Haider was again elected Governor of Carinthia.
of the ÖVP became federal chancellor
. Although Haider declined any position in the government, the FPÖ was given power to appoint the Ministers of Finance and Social Affairs. Later that month Haider stepped down as party chairman, replaced by Susanne Riess-Passer
. Having threatened a diplomatic boycott of Austria, the other fourteen European Union
(EU) countries introduced sanctions
after the government had been formed; other than formal EU meetings, contacts with Austria were reduced. The measures were justified by the EU, which stated that "the admission of the FPÖ into a coalition government legitimises the extreme right in Europe."
Although the FPÖ's profile had changed over time (and it had been in government with the SPÖ during the mid-1980s), the party had been denigrated following its ideological shift under Haider. Along with the party's origins and its focus on issues such as immigration and questions of identity and belonging, the party had (until recently) been subjected to a strategy of cordon sanitaire
by the SPÖ and ÖVP. The EU sanctions were lifted in September, after a report had found that the measures were effective only in the short term; in the long run, they might give rise to an anti-EU backlash. Some observers noted an inconsistency in that there had been no sanctions against Italy when the post-fascist Italian Social Movement
/National Alliance
had become part of government of that country in 1994.
The FPÖ struggled with its shift from an anti-establishment party to being part of the government, which led to decreasing internal stability and electoral support. Its blue collar
voters became unhappy with the party's need to support some neo-liberal
ÖVP economic reforms; the government's peak in unpopularity occurred when tax reform was postponed at the same time that the government was planning to purchase new interceptor jets. Internecine strife erupted in the party over strategy between party members in government and Haider, who allied himself with the party's grass roots. Several prominent FPÖ government ministers resigned in the 2002 "Knittelfeld Putsch
" after strong attacks by Haider, which led to new elections being called.
In the subsequent election campaign, the party was deeply divided and unable to organise an effective political strategy. It changed leaders five times in less than two months, and in the 2002 general election
decreased its share of the vote to 10.2%, almost two-thirds less than its previous share. Most of its voters sided with the ÖVP, which became the largest party in Austria with 43% of the vote. Nevertheless, the coalition government of the ÖVP and FPÖ was revived after the election; however, there was increasing criticism within the FPÖ against the party's mission of winning elections at any cost.
—followed by then-current chairman (and Haider's sister) Ursula Haubner
, vice chancellor Hubert Gorbach
and the entire FPÖ contingent of the government—left the party and on 4 April 2005 founded a new political party called the Alliance for the Future of Austria
(BZÖ). Austria's chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel
followed, changing his coalition with the FPÖ into cooperation with the BZÖ. In Haider's stronghold of Carinthia
, the local FPÖ branch became the Carinthia branch of the BZÖ.
and Burgenland
. On 23 April 2005 Heinz-Christian Strache
was elected as new chairman of the FPÖ, taking over from interim leader Hilmar Kabas
. As most of the party's office-seeking elite had gone over to the BZÖ, the FPÖ was again free from responsibility. Under Strache the party's ideology grew more radical, and it returned to its primary goal of vote-maximising. The FPÖ did reasonably well in October's Vienna election
, in which Strache was the leading candidate and ran a campaign directed strongly against immigration
. It took a 14.9% share, while the BZÖ won just 1.2%.
By the 2006 general election
, the FPÖ returned to promoting anti-immigration, anti-Islam and Eurosceptic
issues. It won 11% of the vote and 21 seats in parliament, while the BZÖ only barely passed the 4% threshold needed to enter Parliament. The subsequent coalition between the SPÖ and the ÖVP left both parties in opposition. In the 2008 general election
both the FPÖ and the BZÖ rose significantly at the expense of the SPÖ and the ÖVP. Both parties increased their percentage of the vote by about 6.5%, with the FPÖ at 17.4% and the BZÖ at 10.7%—together gaining 28.2%, and thus both breaking the record vote for the FPÖ in the 1999 election. Shortly after the election, BZÖ leader and former FPÖ leader Jörg Haider died in a car accident. In the 2009 European Parliament election
the FPÖ doubled its 2004 results, winning 12.8% of the vote and 2 seats.
In December 2009 the local Carinthia branch of the BZÖ, its stronghold, broke away and founded The Freedomites in Carinthia (FPK); it cooperated with the FPÖ at the federal level, modeling itself on the German CDU/CSU
relationship. The leader of the branch, Uwe Scheuch, had fallen out with BZÖ leader Josef Bucher
after the latter had introduced a "moderate, right-wing liberal" and more economically oriented ideology. In the 2010 Vienna elections
, the FPÖ increased its vote to 25.8% (slightly less than the record result of 1996); this was seen as a victory for Strache, due to his popularity among young people. This was only the second time in the postwar era that the SPÖ lost its absolute majority in the city.
After its convention in early 2011 mid-way between general elections, the FPÖ had a support in opinion polls of around 24-29%—at par with the SPÖ and ÖVP, and above the BZÖ. Among people under 30 years of age, the FPÖ had the support of 42%.
and social party. This means that the party promotes its role as a guarantor of Austrian identity and social welfare
. Economically, it supports regulated liberalism with privatisation and low taxes, combined with support for the welfare state
; however, it maintains that it will be impossible to uphold the welfare state if current immigration policies are continued.
The present FPÖ has variously been described as right-wing populist
, national conservative
, "right-conservative", "right-national", and far right. The party has traditionally been part of the national liberal
camp, and generally identifies with a freiheitlich (libertarian) profile. Leading current party members such as Andreas Mölzer
and Harald Vilimsky have considered themselves as national liberal "cultural Germans", while Barbara Rosenkranz
has considered her ideology as national conservative.
s, directly elect the federal president, significantly reduce the number of ministries, and devolve power to the federal states
and local councils. Surveys have shown that anti-establishment positions were one of the top reasons for voters to vote for the FPÖ. Its anti-establishment position proved incompatible with being in government during the first half of the 2000s, but was renewed after most of the parliamentary group left to join the BZÖ in 2005.
was not a hot-button issue in Austria until the 1980s. Under Haider's leadership, on the list of most important issues for voters immigration went from being practically non-existent before 1989, to the 10th-most-important in 1990, and the second-most-important in 1992. In 1993, the controversial "Austria First!" initiative aimed to collect signatures for a referendum on immigration restrictions and asserted that "Austria is not a country of immigration." The party also maintained that "the protection of cultural identity and social peace in Austria requires a stop to immigration," maintaining that its concern was not against foreigners, but to safeguard the interests and cultural identity of native Austrians. Although during the late 1990s the party warned against the growing influence of radical Islam, this was later expanded to include concerns about Islamisation and the increasing number of Muslim
s in general.
During the period of ÖVP-FPÖ government, many amendments were introduced to tighten the country's immigration policies. The number of new asylum applications, for example, was reduced from 32,000 in 2003 to 13,300 in 2006.
(a word meaning both "the homeland" and a more general notion of cultural identity) has been central to the ideology of the FPÖ, although its application has slightly changed with time. Initially, Heimat indicated the feeling of national belonging influenced by a pan-Germanic vision; the party assured voters in 1985 that "the overwhelming majority of Austrians belong to the German ethnic and cultural community." Although it was noted then that Austria was the mother country which held the national traditions, this would later be favoured more explicitly over the pan-German concept. In 1995 Haider declared an end to pan-Germanism in the party, and in the 1997 party manifesto the former community of "German people" was replaced with the "Austrian people". Under the leadership of Strache, the concept of Heimat has been promoted and developed more deeply than it had been previously. After his reelection as chairman in 2011, the German aspects of the party's programme was formally reintroduced.
changed (between 1989 and 1990) from pro- to anti-EU, which was reflected by its change from pan-Germanism to Austrian patriotism. Since the 1990s, the party has taken an increasingly Eurosceptic position. The FPÖ opposed Austria's joining the EU in 1994, and promoted a popular initiative against the replacement of the Austrian schilling
with the Euro
in 1998; both issues were defeated. Due to perceived differences between Turkish and European culture, the party opposes the accession of Turkey to the EU
; it has declared that should this happen, Austria must immediately leave the EU.
The party's positions towards the United States
and the Middle East
have evolved over time. While some right-wing forums had held anti-American positions during the 1970s and 1980s (largely due to concerns over US cultural expansion and its hegemonic role in world politics at the expense of Europe), the FPÖ initially developed a more positive relationship towards the United States under Haider in the late 1980s and 1990s. However, this changed in 2003 when Haider visited Saddam Hussein
on the eve of the Iraq War; he subsequently condemned US foreign policy and George W. Bush
for not being very different from Hussein. This move was strongly criticised by the FPÖ, which was part of the then-current government. Nevertheless, in the mid- to late 2000s the FPÖ to criticised US foreign policy as promoted by Bush, which it saw as leading to increased levels of violence in the Middle East. The party also became more critical of Israel's part in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
By 2010, under Heinz-Christian Strache's leadership, the party became more friendly towards Israel. In December 2010 the FPÖ (along with the representatives of like-minded rightist parties) visited Israel, where they issued the "Jerusalem Declaration"; this affirmed Israel's right to exist
and defend itself, particularly against Islamic terror. At the FPÖ's invitation, Israeli Deputy Minister Ayoob Kara
of the Likud
party subsequently visited Vienna. Strache, at about the same time, said he wanted to meet with leaders of the American Tea Party movement
(which he described as "highly interesting"). He has also declared himself "a friend of the Serbs" (who constitute the largest immigrant group in Austria). The FPÖ rejects the independence of Kosovo
, and states that it is on the side of Serbia
.
. In the early years of Haider's leadership, meetings were held with figures such as Jean-Marie Le Pen
of the French National Front and Franz Schönhuber
of the German Republicans. Following the FPÖ's entrance in government in 2000, Haider sought to establish an alliance of right-wing parties. In the late 1990s he had chosen to distance himself from Le Pen, and had refused to join Le Pen's EuroNat
project. For his own project, Haider tried to establish stable cooperations with the Vlaams Blok
party from Belgium and the Lega Nord party from Italy, as well as some other parties and party groupings. In the end, its efforts to establish a new alliance of parties was not successful.
Under the leadership of Strache, the party has cooperated mainly with the Vlaams Belang
(successor to the Vlaams Blok, which it has traditionally maintained good ties with), and the Pro Germany Citizens' Movement
in Germany. The FPÖ also has contacts with the Swiss People's Party
, the Danish People's Party
, the Slovak National Party, the Sweden Democrats
and the German party Freedom. In 2007, the party's then-only MEP was a member of the short-lived Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty grouping in the European Parliament. Outside the EU, it has contacts with Tomislav Nikolić
of the Serbian Progressive Party
(formerly of the Serbian Radical Party
) and the United Russia
party. At a conference in 2011, Strache and the new leader of the French National Front, Marine Le Pen
, announced deeper cooperation between their parties. Shortly thereafter, the FPÖ attempted to become a member of the Europe for Freedom and Democracy group, but was vetoed by some of its parties. The FPÖ's two MEPs are individual members of the establishing European Alliance for Freedom
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal
National liberalism
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining nationalism with some liberal policies, especially regarding economic liberalism. The roots of it are to be found in the 19th century, when conservative liberalism was the ideology of the political classes in most European countries, then...
camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents
Federation of Independents
The Federation of Independents was a German national and national-liberal political party in Austria active from 1949 to 1955...
(VdU), which had been founded seven years earlier. In the Austrian political landscape, the FPÖ was from its foundation a third party
Third party (politics)
In a two-party system of politics, the term third party is sometimes applied to a party other than the two dominant ones. While technically the term is limited to the third largest party or third oldest party, it is common, though innumerate, shorthand for any smaller party.For instance, in the...
with only modest support until it entered into government together with the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
(SPÖ) in the mid-1980s.
When Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
was chosen as new FPÖ party leader in 1986, the party started a political and ideological journey which was described by observers as representing a turn towards right-wing populism
Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism is a political ideology that rejects existing political consensus and combines laissez-faire liberalism and anti-elitism. It is considered "right-wing" because of its rejection of social equality and government programs to achieve it, its opposition to social integration, and...
. This new political course soon resulted in a strong surge in electoral support for the party, although it also led the SPÖ to break its ties. In 1993, after a controversial proposal on immigration issues, the adherents of a position closer to classical liberalism
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
in the FPÖ broke away and formed the (now-marginalized) Liberal Forum
Liberal Forum
The Liberal Forum is a small classical liberal party in Austria. The party is currently led by Angelika Mlinar, and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.-Founding:...
(LiF). This new party took over the FPÖ's membership in the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
, since the FPÖ considered itself forced to leave.
In the 1999 legislative election
Austrian legislative election, 1999
Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 3 October 1999. Although the Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in the National Council, a coalition government was formed by the Freedom Party of Austria and the Austrian People's Party after several months of negotiations...
, the FPÖ won its best-ever result in a national election with 26.9% of the vote and defeated the Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
(ÖVP) by a small margin. This led the ÖVP to agree to form a coalition government with the FPÖ. The coalition was initially subject to sanctions from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, which claimed that the coalition was "legitimis[ing] the extreme right in Europe." The FPÖ soon became uncomfortable with its new government position and fell sharply in support in the 2002 election
Austrian legislative election, 2002
Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002, after internal divisions in the Freedom Party of Austria culminating in the Knittelfeld Putsch led to the resignation of several leading FPÖ members. The result was a victory for the ÖVP, which won 79 of the 183 seats, the...
, where it gained only 10% of the vote. The two parties agreed to continue their coalition following the election; however, increasing internal disagreements in the FPÖ led Haider and many leading party members (including the FPÖ part of the government) to defect from the party in 2005. They formed a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
The Alliance for the Future of Austria , abbreviated to BZÖ, is a conservative liberal political party in Austria. The party has sixteen seats in the National Council....
(BZÖ), which replaced the FPÖ as government partner with the ÖVP. Since then, the chairman of the FPÖ has been Heinz-Christian Strache
Heinz-Christian Strache
Heinz-Christian Strache is an Austrian politician, member of parliament, former member of the Vienna city council and political leader of the Freedom Party of Austria . He is a right-wing politician and an efficient populist...
and the party has again attracted an increase in its popular support.
Political background
The FPÖ is a direct descendant of the German national liberalNational liberalism
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining nationalism with some liberal policies, especially regarding economic liberalism. The roots of it are to be found in the 19th century, when conservative liberalism was the ideology of the political classes in most European countries, then...
camp (Lager) dating back to the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
. During the interwar era, the national liberal camp (gathered in the Greater German People's Party
Greater German People's Party
The Greater German People's Party was a German nationalist and national liberal party during the First Republic of Austria.-Foundation:...
) fought against the mutually-hostile Christian Social and Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
camps in their struggles to structure the new republic according to their respective ideologies. After a short civil war
Austrian Civil War
The Austrian Civil War , also known as the February Uprising , is a term sometimes used for a few days of skirmishes between socialist and conservative-fascist forces between 12 February and 16 February 1934, in Austria...
, the Federal State of Austria
Austrofascism
Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used by historians to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria with the May Constitution of 1934, which ceased with the forcible incorporation of the newly-founded Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938...
, an authoritarian Christian Social dictatorship, was established in 1934. By 1938, with the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
of Austria into Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, the national liberal camp (which had always striven for an inclusion of Austria into a Greater Germany
German question
The German question was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve the Unification of Germany. From 1815–1871, a number of 37 independent German-speaking states existed within the German Confederation...
) had been swallowed whole by National Socialism and all other parties were eventually absorbed into Nazi totalitarianism. Both Socialists and Christian Socials were persecuted under the Nazi regime, and the national liberal camp was scarred after the war due to guilt by association
Guilt by Association
Guilt by Association can refer to:* Association fallacy - sometimes called "guilt by association".* Guilt by Association Vol. 1 - album by Engine Room Recordings.* Guilt by Association Vol. 2 - album by Engine Room Recordings....
with National Socialism.
In 1949, the Federation of Independents
Federation of Independents
The Federation of Independents was a German national and national-liberal political party in Austria active from 1949 to 1955...
(VdU) was founded as a national liberal alternative to the main Austrian parties—the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
(SPÖ) and the Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
(ÖVP), successors to the interwar era Marxist and Christian Social parties. The VdU was founded by two liberal Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
journalists—former Nazi Germany prisoners—who wanted to stay clear of the mainstream socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and Catholic camps and feared that hostility following the hastily devised postwar denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
policy (which did not distinguish between party members and actual war criminals) might stimulate a revival of Nazism. Functioning as a political home to everyone not a member of the two main parties, the VdU incorporated an array of political movements—including free-market liberals, populists, former Nazis and German nationalists, all of whom had been unable to join either of the two main parties. The VdU won 12% of the vote in the 1949 general election, but saw its support beginning to decline soon afterward. It evolved into the FPÖ by 1955/56 after merging with the minor Freedom Party in 1955; a new party was formed on 17 October 1955, and its founding congress was held on 7 April 1956.
Early years (1956–1980)
The first FPÖ party leader was Anton ReinthallerAnton Reinthaller
Anton Reinthaller was an Austrian right wing politician active before and after the Second World War. He was the inaugural leader of the Freedom Party of Austria .- Early life :...
, a former Nazi Minister of Agriculture and SS officer. He had been asked by ÖVP Chancellor Julius Raab
Julius Raab
Julius Raab was a Conservative Austrian politician. He was Federal Chancellor of Austria from 1953 to 1961. Raab steered Allied-occupied Austria to independence. In 1955 he negotiated and signed the Austrian State Treaty...
to take over the movement rather than let it be led by a more socialist-leaning group. While the majority of former Nazis had probably joined the two main parties in absolute numbers, they formed a greater percentage of FPÖ members due to the party's small size. Nevertheless, none of them were real revolutionaries and they pursued pragmatic, non-ideological policies. The FPÖ served as a vehicle for them to integrate in the Second Republic; the party was a welcome partner with both the SPÖ and ÖVP in regional and local politics, although it was excluded at the national level. The ÖVP and the FPÖ ran a joint candidate for the 1957 presidential election, who lost.
Reinthaller was replaced as leader in 1958 by Friedrich Peter
Friedrich Peter
Friedrich Peter was an Austrian politician who served as the chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria from 1958 to 1978.- Early life :...
(also a former SS officer), who led the party through the 1960s and 1970s and moved it towards the political centre. In 1966 the ÖVP-SPÖ Grand Coalition
Grand coalition
A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government...
which had governed Austria since the war was broken, when the ÖVP gained enough votes to govern alone. SPÖ leader Bruno Kreisky
Bruno Kreisky
Bruno Kreisky was an Austrian politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest acting Chancellor after World War II....
(himself a Jew) defended Peter's past and initiated a political relationship—and a personal friendship—with Peter; in 1970 the FPÖ was, for the first time, able to tolerate an SPÖ minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
. In 1967 the more extreme faction in the FPÖ broke away and established the National Democratic Party, seen by some observers as a final shedding of the party's Nazi legacy. Under the influence of Kreisky, a new generation of liberals brought the FPÖ into the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
in 1978. During the years under Peter the party never won more than 8% of the national vote in general elections, and generally did not have much political significance.
Steger leadership (1980–1986)
Liberal Norbert StegerNorbert Steger
Norbert Steger is an Austrian lawyer and former politician for the Freedom Party of Austria . He was the FPÖ party leader from 1980 to 1986, and Vice Chancellor and Minister of Commerce of Austria from 1983 to 1987....
was chosen as new FPÖ party leader in 1980; in an effort to gain popularity, he helped the FPÖ become established as a moderate centrist liberal party. His vision was to transform the FPÖ into an Austrian version of the German Free Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
, focusing on free-market and anti-statist policies. In the 1980s, the Austrian political system began to change; the dominance of the SPÖ and ÖVP started to erode, and the Austrian electorate began to swing to the right. SPÖ leader Bruno Kreisky had encouraged the FPÖ's move to the centre, in order to establish an SPÖ-FPÖ alliance against the ÖVP. The 1983 general election was a watershed; the SPÖ lost its absolute majority in Parliament, which resulted in the formation of an SPÖ-FPÖ "Small Coalition". Ironically, the 1983 election result was the worst for the FPÖ in its history (it received slightly less than 5% of the vote), and during the next few years the party saw 2-3% support—or even less—in opinion polls. As a consequence, the party was soon torn by internal strife.
In 1983, the right-wing Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
took over the leadership of the FPÖ's significant Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
branch. Its importance dated to the Kärntner Abwehrkampf (Carinthian defensive struggle) following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and subsequent anti-Slavic
Anti-Slavism
Anti-Slavism, also known as Slavophobia, a form of racism or xenophobia, refers to various negative attitudes towards Slavic peoples, most common manifestation being claims of inferiority of Slavic nations with respect to other ethnic groups...
sentiment arising from a fear of being taken over by Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Encouraged by the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, a struggle soon developed between Steger and Haider over the future of the party. In the 1985 Reder case, for instance, Haider staunchly supported FPÖ Minister of Defence Friedhelm Frischenschlager when the latter welcomed convicted Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
war criminal Walter Reder
Walter Reder
SS-Sturmbannführer Walter Reder was a German Waffen-SS officer who served with the 3.SS-Panzer-Division Totenkopf and the 16.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Reichsführer-SS. He was a Knight's Cross and German Cross in Gold winner...
in person when Reder arrived at Graz Airport
Graz Airport
Graz Airport , also known as Thalerhof, serves Graz, Austria. It is located in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf, south of Graz city centre.-Transportation:...
after his release from Italy. While the FPÖ struggled with its low support at the national level in the mid-1980s, this was in sharp contrast to the party's position in Haider's Carinthia (where the party had increased its support from 11.7% in the 1979 provincial election to 16% in 1984).
During the 1986 National Convention in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, the internal struggle developed into an open conflict; this led Haider to victory as new FPÖ party leader with 58% of the vote, supported by conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and pan-German
German nationalism in Austria
German nationalism is a political ideology and a current in Austrian politics. It has its origins in the German National Movement of the 19th century, a nationalist movement of the German-speaking population in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and had striven for a closer connection of the...
factions. However, incoming SPÖ Chancellor Franz Vranitzky
Franz Vranitzky
Franz Vranitzky is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria , he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997.-Early life and career:...
—who also entered office in 1986—had strong negative feelings towards Haider, whom he felt was too far-right. Vranitzky subsequently announced an election in 1986, in the process disbanding the SPÖ-FPÖ "Small Coalition" and, after the election, entered into a coalition with the ÖVP. Under Haider's leadership, the FPÖ increased its vote to 9.7%, while the party gradually became more right-wing and its former liberal influence waned. As the FPÖ increased its electoral support with Haider's radical-populist rhetoric, the party reduced its chances of forming coalitions with other parties.
Haider leadership (1986–2000)
With Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
as the new party leader, the 1989 Carinthia provincial election caused a sensation; the SPÖ lost its majority
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
and the ÖVP was relegated to third-party status, as the FPÖ finished second with 29% of the vote. The FPÖ formed a coalition with the ÖVP, with Haider as Governor of Carinthia (at this point his greatest political triumph). By the 1990 general election
Austrian legislative election, 1990
Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 7 October 1990. The Social Democratic Party won the most seats, and retained the grand coalition with the Austrian People's Party. Voter turnout was 86.1%.-Results:...
the party had moved away from the liberal mainstream course, instead focusing on immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and becoming increasingly critical of the political establishment and the EU. Following a remark made by Haider in 1991 about the "decent employment policy" of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
(in contrast to that of the current Austrian government), he was removed as governor by a joint SPÖ-ÖVP initiative and replaced by the ÖVP's Christof Zernatto. Later that year, however, the FPÖ saw gains made in three provincial elections (most notably in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
).
While Haider often employed controversial rhetoric, his expressed political goals included small government with more direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
rather than centralized totalitarianism. Following the increasing importance of immigration as a political issue, in 1993 the party decided to launch the "Austria First!" initiative (calling for a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on immigration issues). The initiative was controversial and five FPÖ MPs, including Heide Schmidt
Heide Schmidt
Heide Schmidt is an Austrian politician.A lawyer and formerly a prominent member of Jörg Haider's Austrian Freedom Party , in 1993 Schmidt was one of a group of politicians who, because of Haider's increasingly right-wing verbal politics, seceded from the FPÖ and founded the Liberal Forum.From...
, left the party and founded the Liberal Forum
Liberal Forum
The Liberal Forum is a small classical liberal party in Austria. The party is currently led by Angelika Mlinar, and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.-Founding:...
(LiF). The FPÖ's relations with the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
also became increasingly strained, and later that year the FPÖ left the LI (which was preparing to expel it). In turn, the LiF soon joined the Liberal International instead. In 1999, Haider was again elected Governor of Carinthia.
Coalition government (2000–2005)
In the 1999 general election the FPÖ won 27% of the votes, more than in any previous election—beating the ÖVP for the first time by a small margin. In February 2000, the ÖVP agreed to form a coalition government with the FPÖ. Despite domestic and international criticism of the FPÖ's participation in the government, Wolfgang SchüsselWolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007...
of the ÖVP became federal chancellor
Chancellor of Austria
The Federal Chancellor is the head of government in Austria. Its deputy is the Vice-Chancellor. Before 1918, the equivalent office was the Minister-President of Austria. The Federal Chancellor is considered to be the most powerful political position in Austrian politics.-Appointment:The...
. Although Haider declined any position in the government, the FPÖ was given power to appoint the Ministers of Finance and Social Affairs. Later that month Haider stepped down as party chairman, replaced by Susanne Riess-Passer
Susanne Riess-Passer
Susanne Riess-Passer is a former Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria .In the first government headed by Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, which was inaugurated in 2000, she became Vice Chancellor and minister of public services and sports, representing her party in the coalition with...
. Having threatened a diplomatic boycott of Austria, the other fourteen European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU) countries introduced sanctions
International sanctions
International sanctions are actions taken by countries against others for political reasons, either unilaterally or multilaterally.There are several types of sanctions....
after the government had been formed; other than formal EU meetings, contacts with Austria were reduced. The measures were justified by the EU, which stated that "the admission of the FPÖ into a coalition government legitimises the extreme right in Europe."
Although the FPÖ's profile had changed over time (and it had been in government with the SPÖ during the mid-1980s), the party had been denigrated following its ideological shift under Haider. Along with the party's origins and its focus on issues such as immigration and questions of identity and belonging, the party had (until recently) been subjected to a strategy of cordon sanitaire
Cordon sanitaire
Cordon sanitaire — or quarantine line — is a French phrase that, literally translated, means "sanitary cordon". Though in French it originally denoted a barrier implemented to stop the spread of disease, it has often been used in English in a metaphorical sense to refer to attempts to prevent the...
by the SPÖ and ÖVP. The EU sanctions were lifted in September, after a report had found that the measures were effective only in the short term; in the long run, they might give rise to an anti-EU backlash. Some observers noted an inconsistency in that there had been no sanctions against Italy when the post-fascist Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
/National Alliance
National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
had become part of government of that country in 1994.
The FPÖ struggled with its shift from an anti-establishment party to being part of the government, which led to decreasing internal stability and electoral support. Its blue collar
Blue collar
Blue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
voters became unhappy with the party's need to support some neo-liberal
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
ÖVP economic reforms; the government's peak in unpopularity occurred when tax reform was postponed at the same time that the government was planning to purchase new interceptor jets. Internecine strife erupted in the party over strategy between party members in government and Haider, who allied himself with the party's grass roots. Several prominent FPÖ government ministers resigned in the 2002 "Knittelfeld Putsch
Knittelfeld Putsch
Knittelfeld Putsch refers to a conference of the Freedom Party of Austria which took place on 7 September 2002 in the small Austrian town of Knittelfeld, Styria, called due to political differences within the party leadership...
" after strong attacks by Haider, which led to new elections being called.
In the subsequent election campaign, the party was deeply divided and unable to organise an effective political strategy. It changed leaders five times in less than two months, and in the 2002 general election
Austrian legislative election, 2002
Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002, after internal divisions in the Freedom Party of Austria culminating in the Knittelfeld Putsch led to the resignation of several leading FPÖ members. The result was a victory for the ÖVP, which won 79 of the 183 seats, the...
decreased its share of the vote to 10.2%, almost two-thirds less than its previous share. Most of its voters sided with the ÖVP, which became the largest party in Austria with 43% of the vote. Nevertheless, the coalition government of the ÖVP and FPÖ was revived after the election; however, there was increasing criticism within the FPÖ against the party's mission of winning elections at any cost.
Haider's departure for BZÖ
After an internal row had threatened to tear the FPÖ apart, former chairman Jörg HaiderJörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
—followed by then-current chairman (and Haider's sister) Ursula Haubner
Ursula Haubner
Ursula Haubner is an Austrian politician of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , formerly of the Austrian Freedom Party . Haubner is married with two daughters and five grandchildren...
, vice chancellor Hubert Gorbach
Hubert Gorbach
Hubert Gorbach is an Austrian politician and a member of the Alliance for the Future of Austria . Until April 2005, he was a leading member in the Freedom Party. Born in Vorarlberg, he was vice-governor of Vorarlberg until 2003.In 2003, he succeeded Herbert Haupt as Vice-Chancellor of Austria...
and the entire FPÖ contingent of the government—left the party and on 4 April 2005 founded a new political party called the Alliance for the Future of Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
The Alliance for the Future of Austria , abbreviated to BZÖ, is a conservative liberal political party in Austria. The party has sixteen seats in the National Council....
(BZÖ). Austria's chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007...
followed, changing his coalition with the FPÖ into cooperation with the BZÖ. In Haider's stronghold of Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, the local FPÖ branch became the Carinthia branch of the BZÖ.
Strache leadership (2005–present)
The FPÖ fared much better than the BZÖ in polls following the 2005 split, with the first tests in regional elections in StyriaStyrian state election, 2005
State elections were held in the Austrian state of Styria on 9 March 2005.After being governed by ÖVP-led administrations for sixty years, the SPÖ managed to win the election. Franz Voves, Styrian SPÖ chairman, became prime minister...
and Burgenland
Burgenland state election, 2005
State elections were held in the Austrian state of Burgenland in 2005 to determine the State parliament for the next 5 years.The SPÖ won the election in a landslide victory. State governor since 2000, Hans Niessl, Burgenland SPÖ chairman, won another term as state governor....
. On 23 April 2005 Heinz-Christian Strache
Heinz-Christian Strache
Heinz-Christian Strache is an Austrian politician, member of parliament, former member of the Vienna city council and political leader of the Freedom Party of Austria . He is a right-wing politician and an efficient populist...
was elected as new chairman of the FPÖ, taking over from interim leader Hilmar Kabas
Hilmar Kabas
Hilmar Kabas is an Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria .Kabas studied law at the University of Vienna...
. As most of the party's office-seeking elite had gone over to the BZÖ, the FPÖ was again free from responsibility. Under Strache the party's ideology grew more radical, and it returned to its primary goal of vote-maximising. The FPÖ did reasonably well in October's Vienna election
Viennese state election, 2005
In the 2005 Viennese Lantag elections, the SPÖ won government and Michael Häupl was chosen for a third term as the mayor of the city-state....
, in which Strache was the leading candidate and ran a campaign directed strongly against immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. It took a 14.9% share, while the BZÖ won just 1.2%.
By the 2006 general election
Austrian legislative election, 2006
The 2006 general election for the National Council in Austria was held on 1 October 2006.Following the Austrian legislative election, 1999, the Austrian People's Party had formed a coalition government with the Austrian Freedom Party , and later the Alliance for the Future of Austria .As a result...
, the FPÖ returned to promoting anti-immigration, anti-Islam and Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
issues. It won 11% of the vote and 21 seats in parliament, while the BZÖ only barely passed the 4% threshold needed to enter Parliament. The subsequent coalition between the SPÖ and the ÖVP left both parties in opposition. In the 2008 general election
Austrian legislative election, 2008
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008...
both the FPÖ and the BZÖ rose significantly at the expense of the SPÖ and the ÖVP. Both parties increased their percentage of the vote by about 6.5%, with the FPÖ at 17.4% and the BZÖ at 10.7%—together gaining 28.2%, and thus both breaking the record vote for the FPÖ in the 1999 election. Shortly after the election, BZÖ leader and former FPÖ leader Jörg Haider died in a car accident. In the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (Austria)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Austria was the election of the delegation from Austria to the European Parliament in 2009. Austria will have 17 seats in the European Parliament, instead of 18 that the country had before the re-allocation of seats....
the FPÖ doubled its 2004 results, winning 12.8% of the vote and 2 seats.
In December 2009 the local Carinthia branch of the BZÖ, its stronghold, broke away and founded The Freedomites in Carinthia (FPK); it cooperated with the FPÖ at the federal level, modeling itself on the German CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
relationship. The leader of the branch, Uwe Scheuch, had fallen out with BZÖ leader Josef Bucher
Josef Bucher
Josef Bucher is an Austrian politician and is the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Austria . He is also a Member of Parliament for the party...
after the latter had introduced a "moderate, right-wing liberal" and more economically oriented ideology. In the 2010 Vienna elections
Viennese state election, 2010
In the 2010 Viennese Landtag elections, the SPÖ lost its absolut majority.The big winner was the Freedom Party which reached 25,77% and doubled it seats from 13 to 27 gaining these from all other parties of the Landtag....
, the FPÖ increased its vote to 25.8% (slightly less than the record result of 1996); this was seen as a victory for Strache, due to his popularity among young people. This was only the second time in the postwar era that the SPÖ lost its absolute majority in the city.
After its convention in early 2011 mid-way between general elections, the FPÖ had a support in opinion polls of around 24-29%—at par with the SPÖ and ÖVP, and above the BZÖ. Among people under 30 years of age, the FPÖ had the support of 42%.
Ideology
Under the leadership of Heinz-Christian Strache, the FPÖ has focused on describing itself as a HeimatHeimat
Heimat is a German word that has no simple English translation. It is often expressed with terms such as home or homeland, but these English counterparts fail to encapsulate the true meaning of the word.-The meaning of Heimat:...
and social party. This means that the party promotes its role as a guarantor of Austrian identity and social welfare
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
. Economically, it supports regulated liberalism with privatisation and low taxes, combined with support for the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
; however, it maintains that it will be impossible to uphold the welfare state if current immigration policies are continued.
The present FPÖ has variously been described as right-wing populist
Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism is a political ideology that rejects existing political consensus and combines laissez-faire liberalism and anti-elitism. It is considered "right-wing" because of its rejection of social equality and government programs to achieve it, its opposition to social integration, and...
, national conservative
National conservatism
National conservatism is a political term used primarily in Europe to describe a variant of conservatism which concentrates more on national interests than standard conservatism as well as upholding cultural and ethnic identity, while not being outspokenly nationalist or supporting a far-right...
, "right-conservative", "right-national", and far right. The party has traditionally been part of the national liberal
National liberalism
National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining nationalism with some liberal policies, especially regarding economic liberalism. The roots of it are to be found in the 19th century, when conservative liberalism was the ideology of the political classes in most European countries, then...
camp, and generally identifies with a freiheitlich (libertarian) profile. Leading current party members such as Andreas Mölzer
Andreas Mölzer
Andreas Mölzer is an Austrian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Freedom Party of Austria.- Biography :...
and Harald Vilimsky have considered themselves as national liberal "cultural Germans", while Barbara Rosenkranz
Barbara Rosenkranz
Barbara Rosenkranz is an Austrian politician for the Freedom Party of Austria , currently serving as the Minister of Building Law and Animal Protection of the State of Lower Austria...
has considered her ideology as national conservative.
Individual freedom
The principle of individual freedom in society was already one of the central points in the FPÖ (and VdU's) program during the 1950s. The party did not regard its liberalism and its pan-German, nationalist positions as contradictory. From the late 1980s through the 1990s, the party developed economically, supporting tax reduction, less state intervention and more privatisation. In the late 2000s, the party combined this position with support for the welfare state. It criticised unemployment and alleged welfare-state abuse by immigrants which, it said, threatened the welfare state and pensioners' benefits.Anti-establishment
During the 1980s and 1990s, Austrian voters became increasingly disaffected with the rule by the two major parties (SPÖ and ÖVP). This coincided with the leadership of Haider, who presented the FPÖ as the only party which could seriously challenge the two parties' dominance. The party strongly criticised the power concentrated in the hands of the elite, until the FPÖ joined the government in 2000. In the 1990s the party advocated replacing the present Second Austrian Republic with a Third Republic, since it sought a radical transformation from "a party state to a citizens' democracy." The party wanted to provide more referendumReferendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s, directly elect the federal president, significantly reduce the number of ministries, and devolve power to the federal states
States of Austria
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a country, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...
and local councils. Surveys have shown that anti-establishment positions were one of the top reasons for voters to vote for the FPÖ. Its anti-establishment position proved incompatible with being in government during the first half of the 2000s, but was renewed after most of the parliamentary group left to join the BZÖ in 2005.
Immigration
ImmigrationImmigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
was not a hot-button issue in Austria until the 1980s. Under Haider's leadership, on the list of most important issues for voters immigration went from being practically non-existent before 1989, to the 10th-most-important in 1990, and the second-most-important in 1992. In 1993, the controversial "Austria First!" initiative aimed to collect signatures for a referendum on immigration restrictions and asserted that "Austria is not a country of immigration." The party also maintained that "the protection of cultural identity and social peace in Austria requires a stop to immigration," maintaining that its concern was not against foreigners, but to safeguard the interests and cultural identity of native Austrians. Although during the late 1990s the party warned against the growing influence of radical Islam, this was later expanded to include concerns about Islamisation and the increasing number of Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s in general.
During the period of ÖVP-FPÖ government, many amendments were introduced to tighten the country's immigration policies. The number of new asylum applications, for example, was reduced from 32,000 in 2003 to 13,300 in 2006.
Heimat
From the mid 1980s, the concept of HeimatHeimat
Heimat is a German word that has no simple English translation. It is often expressed with terms such as home or homeland, but these English counterparts fail to encapsulate the true meaning of the word.-The meaning of Heimat:...
(a word meaning both "the homeland" and a more general notion of cultural identity) has been central to the ideology of the FPÖ, although its application has slightly changed with time. Initially, Heimat indicated the feeling of national belonging influenced by a pan-Germanic vision; the party assured voters in 1985 that "the overwhelming majority of Austrians belong to the German ethnic and cultural community." Although it was noted then that Austria was the mother country which held the national traditions, this would later be favoured more explicitly over the pan-German concept. In 1995 Haider declared an end to pan-Germanism in the party, and in the 1997 party manifesto the former community of "German people" was replaced with the "Austrian people". Under the leadership of Strache, the concept of Heimat has been promoted and developed more deeply than it had been previously. After his reelection as chairman in 2011, the German aspects of the party's programme was formally reintroduced.
Foreign policy
The FPÖ's position on the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
changed (between 1989 and 1990) from pro- to anti-EU, which was reflected by its change from pan-Germanism to Austrian patriotism. Since the 1990s, the party has taken an increasingly Eurosceptic position. The FPÖ opposed Austria's joining the EU in 1994, and promoted a popular initiative against the replacement of the Austrian schilling
Austrian schilling
The schilling was the currency of Austria from 1924 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1999, and the circulating currency until 2002. The euro was introduced at a fixed parity of €1 = 13.7603 schilling to replace it...
with the Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
in 1998; both issues were defeated. Due to perceived differences between Turkish and European culture, the party opposes the accession of Turkey to the EU
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
; it has declared that should this happen, Austria must immediately leave the EU.
The party's positions towards the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
have evolved over time. While some right-wing forums had held anti-American positions during the 1970s and 1980s (largely due to concerns over US cultural expansion and its hegemonic role in world politics at the expense of Europe), the FPÖ initially developed a more positive relationship towards the United States under Haider in the late 1980s and 1990s. However, this changed in 2003 when Haider visited Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
on the eve of the Iraq War; he subsequently condemned US foreign policy and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
for not being very different from Hussein. This move was strongly criticised by the FPÖ, which was part of the then-current government. Nevertheless, in the mid- to late 2000s the FPÖ to criticised US foreign policy as promoted by Bush, which it saw as leading to increased levels of violence in the Middle East. The party also became more critical of Israel's part in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
By 2010, under Heinz-Christian Strache's leadership, the party became more friendly towards Israel. In December 2010 the FPÖ (along with the representatives of like-minded rightist parties) visited Israel, where they issued the "Jerusalem Declaration"; this affirmed Israel's right to exist
Right to exist
The right to exist is said to be an attribute of nations. According to an essay by the nineteenth century French philosopher Ernest Renan, a state has the right to exist when individuals are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the community it represents. Unlike self-determination, the...
and defend itself, particularly against Islamic terror. At the FPÖ's invitation, Israeli Deputy Minister Ayoob Kara
Ayoob Kara
Ayoob Kara is a Druze Israeli politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for Likud and Deputy Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee. He lives in Isfiya, Haifa District....
of the Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
party subsequently visited Vienna. Strache, at about the same time, said he wanted to meet with leaders of the American Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
(which he described as "highly interesting"). He has also declared himself "a friend of the Serbs" (who constitute the largest immigrant group in Austria). The FPÖ rejects the independence of Kosovo
Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...
, and states that it is on the side of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
International relations
While the FPÖ is currently not a member of any European or international organisations, the party has ties with several European political parties and groupings. From 1978 to 1993, under the party's liberal leadership, the party was a member of the Liberal InternationalLiberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
. In the early years of Haider's leadership, meetings were held with figures such as Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
of the French National Front and Franz Schönhuber
Franz Schönhuber
Franz Xaver Schönhuber was a German journalist and author. He gained fame as a founder and eventual chairman of the German Party The Republicans.-Career:...
of the German Republicans. Following the FPÖ's entrance in government in 2000, Haider sought to establish an alliance of right-wing parties. In the late 1990s he had chosen to distance himself from Le Pen, and had refused to join Le Pen's EuroNat
Euronat
EuroNat is an organisation of European nationalist political parties, formed initially at the congress of the French National Front in Strasbourg on 30 March 1997. It had a loose organisational structure, and was in practice based on coordination by activities of the FN...
project. For his own project, Haider tried to establish stable cooperations with the Vlaams Blok
Vlaams Blok
The Vlaams Blok was a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence of Flanders. From its creation in 1978, it was the most notable militant right wing of the Flemish movement. Vlaams...
party from Belgium and the Lega Nord party from Italy, as well as some other parties and party groupings. In the end, its efforts to establish a new alliance of parties was not successful.
Under the leadership of Strache, the party has cooperated mainly with the Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang is a Belgian far-right political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels that advocates the independence of Flanders and strict limits on immigration, whereby immigrants would be obliged to adopt Flemish culture and language...
(successor to the Vlaams Blok, which it has traditionally maintained good ties with), and the Pro Germany Citizens' Movement
Pro Germany Citizens' Movement
The Pro Germany Citizens' Movement is a far-right political party in Germany. It was founded in Cologne on 20 January 2005 after Pro Cologne members had been elected to the Cologne City Council...
in Germany. The FPÖ also has contacts with the Swiss People's Party
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
, the Danish People's Party
Danish People's Party
The Danish People's Party is a political party in Denmark which is frequently described as right-wing populist by political scientists and commentators. The party is led by Pia Kjærsgaard...
, the Slovak National Party, the Sweden Democrats
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats is a political party in Sweden, founded in 1988. SD describes itself as a nationalist movement although others use the term far-right. Since 2005, its party chairman is Jimmie Åkesson, while Björn Söder is the party secretary and parliamentary group leader. An Anemone...
and the German party Freedom. In 2007, the party's then-only MEP was a member of the short-lived Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty grouping in the European Parliament. Outside the EU, it has contacts with Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolic
Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...
of the Serbian Progressive Party
Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party is a right-wing political party in Serbia.-History:The Serbian Progressive Party formed as a group of breakaway MPs in parliament from the Serbian Radical Party led by Tomislav Nikolić over disagreements about the direction of the party. Its founding congress was...
(formerly of the Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
) and the United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
party. At a conference in 2011, Strache and the new leader of the French National Front, Marine Le Pen
Marine Le Pen
Marine Le Pen is a French politician, a lawyer by profession and the president of the Front National since 16 January 2011...
, announced deeper cooperation between their parties. Shortly thereafter, the FPÖ attempted to become a member of the Europe for Freedom and Democracy group, but was vetoed by some of its parties. The FPÖ's two MEPs are individual members of the establishing European Alliance for Freedom
European Alliance for Freedom
The European Alliance for Freedom is a pan-European political party of right-wing Eurosceptics. It was founded in late 2010, the party was recognised by the European Parliament in 2011. Unlike in other pan-European parties, the members of the Alliance are not national parties but individuals.The...
.
National Council
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 Austrian legislative election, 1956 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 13 May 1956. The result was a victory for the Austrian People's Party, which won 82 of the 165 seats. Voter turnout was 96.0%.-Results:... |
283,749 | 6.5% | 6 |
| 1959 Austrian legislative election, 1959 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 10 May 1959. Although the Social Democratic Party received the most votes, the Austrian People's Party won the most seats. The Communist Party of Austria lost all three seats and has not returned to the National Council since. Voter turnout was... |
336,110 | 7.7% | 8 |
| 1962 Austrian legislative election, 1962 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 18 November 1962. The result was a victory for the Austrian People's Party, which won 81 of the 165 seats. Voter turnout was 93.8%.-Results:... |
313,895 | 7.0% | 8 |
| 1966 Austrian legislative election, 1966 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 6 March 1966. The result was a victory for the Austrian People's Party, which won 85 of the 165 seats, allowing them to govern alone. Voter turnout was 93.8%.-Results:... |
242,570 | 5.4% | 6 |
| 1970 Austrian legislative election, 1970 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 1 March 1970. The result was a victory for the Social Democratic Party, which won 81 of the 165 seats and was able to form a minority government that was tolerated by the Freedom Party of Austria in return for electoral reform that favoured smaller... |
253,425 | 5.5% | 6 |
| 1971 Austrian legislative election, 1971 Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 10 October 1971, following electoral reforms which increased the number of seats in the National Council from 165 to 183 and increased the proportionality of the seat distribution. The result was a victory for the Social Democratic Party, which... |
248,473 | 5.5% | 10 |
| 1975 Austrian legislative election, 1975 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 5 October 1975. The result was a victory for the Social Democratic Party, which won 93 of the 183 seats. Voter turnout was 92.9%.-Results:... |
249,444 | 5.4% | 10 |
| 1979 Austrian legislative election, 1979 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 6 May 1979. The result was a victory for the Social Democratic Party, which won 95 of the 183 seats. Voter turnout was 92.2%.-Results:... |
286,743 | 6.1% | 11 |
| 1983 Austrian legislative election, 1983 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 April 1983. The result was a victory for the Social Democratic Party, which won 90 of the 183 seats, and entered into a coalition government with the Freedom Party of Austria. Voter turnout was 92.6%.... |
241,789 | 5.0% | 12 |
| 1986 Austrian legislative election, 1986 Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 23 November 1986. They were called by Chancellor Franz Vranitzky of the Social Democratic Party , as he was not prepared to continue the coalition government with new Freedom Party leader Jörg Haider, who had ousted Norbert Steger at the party... |
472,205 | 9.7% | 18 |
| 1990 Austrian legislative election, 1990 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 7 October 1990. The Social Democratic Party won the most seats, and retained the grand coalition with the Austrian People's Party. Voter turnout was 86.1%.-Results:... |
782,648 | 16.6% | 33 |
| 1994 Austrian legislative election, 1994 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 9 October 1994. The Social Democratic Party won the most seats, and retained the grand coalition with the Austrian People's Party. Voter turnout was 81.9%.-Results:... |
1,042,332 | 22.5% | 42 |
| 1995 Austrian legislative election, 1995 Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 17 December 1995, after the Grand Coalition between the Social Democratic Party and Austrian People's Party collapsed over disagreements about the budget. The SPÖ remained the largest party in the National Council and the Grand Coalition was... |
1,060,175 | 22.0% | 41 |
| 1999 Austrian legislative election, 1999 Parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 3 October 1999. Although the Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in the National Council, a coalition government was formed by the Freedom Party of Austria and the Austrian People's Party after several months of negotiations... |
1,244,087 | 26.9% | 52 |
| 2002 Austrian legislative election, 2002 Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002, after internal divisions in the Freedom Party of Austria culminating in the Knittelfeld Putsch led to the resignation of several leading FPÖ members. The result was a victory for the ÖVP, which won 79 of the 183 seats, the... |
491,328 | 10.0% | 18 |
| 2006 Austrian legislative election, 2006 The 2006 general election for the National Council in Austria was held on 1 October 2006.Following the Austrian legislative election, 1999, the Austrian People's Party had formed a coalition government with the Austrian Freedom Party , and later the Alliance for the Future of Austria .As a result... |
519,598 | 11.0% | 21 |
| 2008 Austrian legislative election, 2008 A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008... |
857,028 | 17.5% | 34 |
European Parliament
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 European Parliament election, 1996 (Austria) The European Parliament election of 1996 in Austria was the election of the delegation from Austria to the European Parliament in 1996.-Background:In 1996, Austria was a country with a population of 7.9 million... |
1,044,604 | 27.5% | 6 |
| 1999 European Parliament election, 1999 (Austria) The European Parliament election of 1999 in Austria was the election of the delegation from Austria to the European Parliament in 1999.-References:... |
655,519 | 23.4% | 5 |
| 2004 European Parliament election, 2004 (Austria) The European Parliament election of 2004 in Austria was the election of MEP representing Austria constituency for the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election. The vote took place on June 13.... |
157,722 | 6.3% | 1 |
| 2009 European Parliament election, 2009 (Austria) The European Parliament election of 2009 in Austria was the election of the delegation from Austria to the European Parliament in 2009. Austria will have 17 seats in the European Parliament, instead of 18 that the country had before the re-allocation of seats.... |
364,207 | 12.7% | 2 |
Party leaders
The following is a list of the party leaders of the FPÖ:- Anton ReinthallerAnton ReinthallerAnton Reinthaller was an Austrian right wing politician active before and after the Second World War. He was the inaugural leader of the Freedom Party of Austria .- Early life :...
(1956–1958) - Friedrich PeterFriedrich PeterFriedrich Peter was an Austrian politician who served as the chairman of the Freedom Party of Austria from 1958 to 1978.- Early life :...
(1958–1978) - Alexander Götz (1978–1979)
- Norbert StegerNorbert StegerNorbert Steger is an Austrian lawyer and former politician for the Freedom Party of Austria . He was the FPÖ party leader from 1980 to 1986, and Vice Chancellor and Minister of Commerce of Austria from 1983 to 1987....
(1979–1986) - Jörg HaiderJörg HaiderJörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
(1986–2000) - Susanne Riess-PasserSusanne Riess-PasserSusanne Riess-Passer is a former Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria .In the first government headed by Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, which was inaugurated in 2000, she became Vice Chancellor and minister of public services and sports, representing her party in the coalition with...
(2000–2002) - Mathias Reichold (2002)
- Herbert HauptHerbert Haupt----Herbert Haupt is an Austrian politician and former party chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party. Born in Seeboden, Carinthia, and a veterinarian by training, he was federal Minister of Social Services from 2000 till 2005 in a coalition government headed by Wolfgang Schüssel...
(2002–2004) - Ursula HaubnerUrsula HaubnerUrsula Haubner is an Austrian politician of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , formerly of the Austrian Freedom Party . Haubner is married with two daughters and five grandchildren...
(2004–2005) - Heinz-Christian StracheHeinz-Christian StracheHeinz-Christian Strache is an Austrian politician, member of parliament, former member of the Vienna city council and political leader of the Freedom Party of Austria . He is a right-wing politician and an efficient populist...
(2005–)