Jörg Haider became leader of the party in 1986, after which it began an ideological turn towards right-wing populism. This resulted in a strong surge in electoral support, but also led the SPÖ to break ties, and a splinter in the form of theLiberal Forum in 1993. In the1999 election, the FPÖ won 26.9% of the vote, becoming the second-most popular party, ahead of the ÖVP by around 500 votes. The two parties eventually reached a coalition agreement in which the ÖVP retained the office of chancellor. The FPÖ soon lost most of its popularity, falling to 10% in the2002 election, but remained in government as junior partner. Internal tensions led Haider and much of the party leadership to leave in 2005, forming theAlliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), which replaced the FPÖ as governing partner.Heinz-Christian Strache then became leader, and the party gradually regained its popularity, peaking at 26.0% in the2017 election. The FPÖ once again became junior partner in government with the ÖVP. In May 2019, theIbiza affair led to the collapse of the government and the resignation of Strache from both the offices ofvice-chancellor and party leader.[27] The resultingsnap election saw the FPÖ fall to 16.2% and return to opposition.[28][29] On 30 June 2024,ANO 2011, the Freedom Party of Austria, andFidesz created a new alliance namedPatriots for Europe.[30]
In 1949, theFederation of Independents (VdU) was founded as a national liberal alternative to the main Austrian parties—theSocial Democratic Party (SPÖ) and theAustrian People's Party (ÖVP),[24] successors to the interwar-era Marxist and Christian Social parties.[34] The VdU was founded by two liberalSalzburg journalists—former prisoners of Nazi Germany—who wanted to stay clear of the mainstreamsocialist andCatholic camps and feared that hostility following the hastily devised postwardenazification policy (which did not distinguish between party members and actual war criminals) might stimulate a revival of Nazism.[34][35] Aiming to become 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.[24][36][37] The VdU won 12% of the vote in the1949 general election, but saw its support begin to decline soon afterward. It evolved into the FPÖ by 1955/56 after merging with the minor Freedom Party in 1955;[38] a new party was formed on 17 October 1955, and its founding congress was held on 7 April 1956.[39][40]
The FPÖ started shortly after the Austrian government effectively endedAustrian denazification,[41][42] which many experts describe as half-hearted.[43][44][45] This paved the way for former Nazis to once again gain positions of power, and indeed the first FPÖ party leader wasAnton Reinthaller, a former Nazi Minister of Agriculture and SS officer.[46] He had been asked by ÖVP ChancellorJulius Raab to take over the movement rather than let it be led by a more socialist-leaning group.[23] At the time of the party's founding, former Nazis formed a greater percentage of FPÖ members than the other contemporary parties.[23] Because of the many former Nazis in the party, it was seen as a right wing extremist party, and was excluded from government at every level until the mid 1960s,[47] except for the1957 presidential election, when it ran a joint candidate with the ÖVP, who lost.[48] However over time the former Nazis rebranded themselves as centrists pursuing pragmatic, non-ideological policies, and the FPÖ presented itself as a moderate party.[23] The FPÖ served as a vehicle for them to integrate in the Second Republic; the party was a coalition partner with both the SPÖ and ÖVP in regional and local politics, although it was excluded at the national level.[23][49]
Reinthaller was replaced as leader in 1958 byFriedrich Peter (also a former SS officer), who led the party through the 1960s and 1970s and moved it towards the political centre.[25] In 1966, the ÖVP–SPÖGrand Coalition, which had governed Austria since the war was broken, was ended when the ÖVP gained enough votes to govern alone. In 1967 the more extreme faction in the FPÖ broke away and established theNational Democratic Party, seen by some observers as a final shedding of the party's Nazi legacy.[47] After the1970 election, the FPÖ became thekingmaker and supported an SPÖminority government led by ChancellorBruno Kreisky.[23][50] Under the influence of Kreisky, a new generation of liberals brought the FPÖ into theLiberal International in 1978.[51][50] 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.[24]
LiberalNorbert Steger 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.[24][25] His vision was to transform the FPÖ into an Austrian version of the GermanFree Democratic Party (FDP), focusing on free-market and anti-statist policies.[26] 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. The1983 general election was a watershed; the SPÖ lost itsabsolute majority in Parliament, which resulted in the formation of an SPÖ-FPÖ "Small Coalition".[25] 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.[50][52]
In 1983, the right-wingJörg Haider took over the leadership of the FPÖ's significantCarinthia branch. Its importance dated to theKärntner Abwehrkampf (Carinthian defensive struggle) followingWorld War I, and subsequentanti-Slavic sentiment arising from a fear of being taken over byYugoslavia.[25] Encouraged by themass 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 DefenceFriedhelm Frischenschlager when the latter welcomed convictedWaffen-SS war criminalWalter Reder in person when Reder arrived atGraz Airport after his release from Italy.[25][53][note 1] 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).[25]
During the 1986 National Convention inInnsbruck, the internal struggle developed into an open conflict; this led Haider to victory as new FPÖ party leader with 58% of the vote, supported byconservative andpan-German factions.[24][25][50][54] However, incoming SPÖ ChancellorFranz Vranitzky—who also entered office in 1986—had strong negative feelings towards Haider, who he felt was toofar-right. Vranitzky subsequently announced anelection in 1986, in the process disbanding the SPÖ-FPÖ "Small Coalition" and, after the election, entered into a coalition with the ÖVP.[55] Under Haider's leadership, the FPÖ increased its vote to 9.7%,[56] while the party gradually became more right-wing and its former liberal influence waned.[57] As the FPÖ increased its electoral support with Haider's radical-populist rhetoric, the party reduced its chances of forming coalitions with other parties.[56]
With Jörg Haider as the new party leader, the 1989 Carinthia provincial election caused a sensation; the SPÖ lost itsmajority 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).[56] By the1990 general election the party had moved away from the liberal mainstream course, instead focusing onimmigration and becoming increasingly critical of the political establishment and the EU.[57] Following a remark made by Haider in 1991 about the "decent employment policy" ofNazi Germany (in contrast to that of the current Austrian government),[note 2] 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 inVienna).[59]
While Haider often employed controversial rhetoric, his expressed political goals included small government with moredirect democracy.[32] Following the increasing importance of immigration as a political issue, in 1993 the party decided to launch the "Austria First!" initiative (calling for areferendum on immigration issues). The initiative was controversial and five FPÖ MPs, includingHeide Schmidt, left the party and founded theLiberal Forum (LiF). The FPÖ's relations with theLiberal 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.[60] In 1999, Haider was again elected Governor of Carinthia.[54]
In the1999 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.[61] Normally, Haider should have becomefederal chancellor. However, it soon became apparent that Haider was too controversial to be part of the government, let alone lead it. Amid intense international criticism of the FPÖ's participation in the government, the FPÖ ceded the chancellorship toWolfgang Schüssel of the ÖVP. As a concession to the FPÖ, the party was given the power to appoint the Ministers of Finance and Social Affairs.[57] Later that month Haider stepped down as party chairman, replaced bySusanne Riess-Passer.[62] Having threatened a diplomatic boycott of Austria, the other fourteenEuropean Union (EU) countries introducedsanctions 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."[63]
The party had been kept on the sidelines for most of the Second Republic, except for its brief role in government in the 1980s. Along with the party's origins and its focus on issues such as immigration and questions of identity and belonging, the party had been subjected to a strategy ofcordon 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.[63] Some observers noted an inconsistency in that there had been no sanctions against Italy when the post-fascistItalian Social Movement/National Alliance had entered government in 1994.[64]
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. Itsblue collar voters became unhappy with the party's need to support someneo-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 grassroots. Several prominent FPÖ government ministers resigned in the 2002 "Knittelfeld Putsch" after strong attacks by Haider, which led to new elections being called.[62][65]
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 the2002 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.[66]
After an internal row had threatened to tear the FPÖ apart, former chairmanJörg Haider, then-chairwoman and his sisterUrsula Haubner, vice chancellorHubert Gorbach and all of the FPÖ ministers left the party and on 4 April 2005 founded a new political party called theAlliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ).[67][68][69] Austria's chancellorWolfgang Schüssel followed, changing his coalition with the FPÖ into cooperation with the BZÖ.[70] In Haider's stronghold ofCarinthia, thelocal FPÖ branch became the Carinthia branch of the BZÖ.[69]
The FPÖ fared much better than the BZÖ in polls following the 2005 split,[71] with the first tests in regional elections inStyria[72] andBurgenland.[73] On 23 April 2005Heinz-Christian Strache was elected as new chairman of the FPÖ, taking over from interim leaderHilmar 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.[74] The FPÖ did reasonably well in that October'sVienna election, in which Strache was the leading candidate and ran a campaign directed strongly againstimmigration.[citation needed] It took a 14.9% share, while the BZÖ won just 1.2%.[75]
By the2006 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,[74] 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 the2008 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.[76] In the2009 European Parliament election the FPÖ doubled its 2004 results, winning 12.8% of the vote and 2 seats.
Heinz-Christian Strache, speaking at a rally before the 2010 Vienna elections.
In December 2009 the local Carinthia branch of the BZÖ, its stronghold, broke away and founded theFreedom Party in Carinthia (FPK); it cooperated with the FPÖ at the federal level, modeling itself on the GermanCDU/CSU relationship.[77] The leader of the branch, Uwe Scheuch, had fallen out with BZÖ leaderJosef Bucher after the latter had introduced a "moderate, right-wing liberal" and more economically oriented ideology.[78] In the2010 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 itsabsolute majority in the city.[79][80]
After its convention in early 2011 midway 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%.[81][82]
In the2013 legislative election the party obtained 20.51% of votes, while BZÖ scored 3.53% and lost all of its seats. After the election SPÖ and ÖVP renewed their coalition and FPÖ remained in opposition.
In the2016 Austrian presidential election, Freedom Party candidateNorbert Hofer won the first round of the election, receiving 35.1% of the vote, making that election the Freedom Party's best ever election result in its history.[84][85][86][87] However, in the second round, Hofer was defeated byAlexander Van der Bellen, who received the support of 50.3% compared to Hofer's 49.7%.[88] In July first theConstitutional Court of Austria voided the results of the second round due to mishandling of postal votes; although the court did not find evidence of deliberate manipulation.[89] The re-vote took place on 4 December 2016 when Van der Bellen won by a significantly larger margin.[90]
In the2017 Austrian legislative election, the FPÖ obtained 26% of votes, increased its seats by eleven seats to 51 seats, achieving its best result since the 1999 election.[91] It was leading every other party untilSebastian Kurz became the leader of the ÖVP,[92] and polling still predicted it would reach second place.[93] Despite the FPÖ's decline in support during the election campaign, it still achieved an ideological victory as Austria's governing parties, particularly the ÖVP under Kurz[91][92] but also the SPÖ,[94] shifted noticeably to the right, adopting much of the FPÖ's policies.[94][95][96]
The FPÖ entered coalition talks with the ÖVP, and in December 2017, they reached an agreement and createda coalition government. The FPÖ gained control over six ministries, including defense, the interior, and foreign affairs.[97][98][99][100]
During the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition, theBVT intelligence agency was raided, an event that led to significant political fallout and allegations of FPÖ involvement.
In mid-May 2019, secretly made footage was released, apparently showing Strache soliciting funds for the party from a purported Russian national.[101] In the video, Strache also suggests his intention to censor the Austrian media in a way that would favor the FPÖ, citing the media landscape of Orban'sHungary.[102]
The footage led to the collapse of the coalition with the ÖVP on 20 May 2019.[103][104]
In the2019 general election the party's support collapsed to 16%, down from 26% in 2017. In the aftermath of the election they collapsed to a record low of 10% in April 2020, but as of November 2022 they have stabilized to around 23–25%.[citation needed]
Norbert Hofer replaced Strache as party leader in September 2019, just before the election. He resigned on 1 June 2021. On 7 June 2021,Herbert Kickl was elected the new leader of the party by the central party committee, a process that was made official at a party convention vote on 19 June 2021.[citation needed]
In the2024 Austrian legislative election the Party's support increased from 16% to 29.2% of the vote, placing first and achieving its best result in the party's history. Since then, the party has rapidly surged upwards in many different polls, reaching 35–37% in many polls.[105][106] Following the collapse of coalition talks between the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS, Kickl was appointed to form Austria's next government.[107] In February 2025, after five weeks of negotiations with the ÖVP, Herbert Kickl failed to form a government coalition.[108]
Under the leadership ofHeinz-Christian Strache (2005–2019), the FPÖ has focused on describing itself as aHeimat and "social" party. This means that the party has portrayed itself as a guarantor of Austrian identity and socialwelfare state. Economically, it has supported regulated liberalism withprivatisation and low taxes, combined with support for the welfare state; however, it has maintained that it will be impossible to uphold the welfare state if current immigration policies are continued.[130]
The principle of individual freedom in society was already one of the central points in the FPÖ (and VdU's) programme during the 1950s.[citation needed] 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. Starting in the late 2000s, the party has taken a more populist tack, combining this position with qualified support for the welfare state.[131] According to a 2020 study, the party's policy on welfare "is restricted to the mitigation of welfare retrenchment for the core workforce, whereas the party has been a protagonist of tax cuts, trade union disempowerment and, more recently, welfare chauvinism."[131] It criticised unemployment and alleged welfare-state abuse by immigrants which, it said, threatened the welfare state and pensioners' benefits.[132]
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 morereferendums, directly elect the federal chancellor, significantly reduce the number of ministries, and devolve power to thefederal 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.[133]
From the mid-1980s, the concept ofHeimat (a word meaning both "the homeland" and a more general notion ofcultural 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 apan-German 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.[134] 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".[135] Under the leadership of Strache, the concept ofHeimat has been promoted and developed more deeply than it had been previously.[136] After his re-election as chairman in 2011, the German aspects of the party's programme were formally reintroduced.[137]
Immigration was not a significant issue in Austria until the 1980s. Under Haider's leadership, immigration went from being practically non-existent on the list of most important issues for voters before 1989, to the 10th-most-important in 1990, and the second-most-important in 1992. In 1993, the controversial "Austria First!" initiative attempted to collect signatures for a referendum onimmigration restrictions and asserted that "Austria is not a country of immigration."[138]
The party 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.[134] Although during the late 1990s the party attacked the influence ofIslamic extremism, this was later expanded to include "Islamisation" and the increasing number ofMuslims in general.[139] According toThe Economist, the hostility to Muslims is "a strategy that resonates with voters ofSerbian background, whom the party has assiduously cultivated."[140] The party has also vowed to outlaw the distribution of free copies of theKoran.[141]
During the period of ÖVP-FPÖ government, many amendments were introduced to tighten the country's immigration policies.[142] The number of new asylum applications, for example, was reduced from 32,000 in 2003 to 13,300 in 2006.[143]
At the end of theCold War, the FPÖ became more Eurosceptic, which was reflected by its change fromPan-Germanism toAustrian nationalism.[54] The party's opposition to the European Union grew stronger in the 1990s. The FPÖ opposed Austria's joining the EU in 1994, and promoted a popular initiative against the replacement of theAustrian schilling with theeuro in 1998, but to no avail. Owing to perceived differences between Turkish and European culture, the party opposes theaccession of Turkey to the EU; it has declared that should this happen, Austria must immediately leave the EU.[144] Previous party leaderNorbert Hofer has said that Austria should consider a referendum on EU membership should Turkey join the block or if the EU makes any further attempt to become a Federal superstate. Presently, the party advocates the introduction of a hard north Euro and a soft south Euro.[145]
Strache declared himself "a friend of the Serbs", who constitute one of the largest immigrant groups in Austria.[146] Siding withSerbia, the FPÖ rejects the independence ofKosovo.[146] In 2016, the FPÖ called to lift "damaging and pointless"international sanctions againstRussia, approved by the EU.[147] The party continues to oppose sanctions on Russian energy, calling for a national referendum on the issue.[148]
The party's views on theUnited States and theMiddle East have evolved over time. Despite the anti-American views of some right-wing forums in the 1970s and 1980s (that chiefly were rooted in worries over US cultural expansion and hegemonic role in world politics at the expense of Europe), the FPÖ were more positively inclined towards the United States under Haider's leadership in the late 1980s and 1990s. However, this changed in 2003 following Haider visitingSaddam Hussein on the eve of theIraq War; he subsequently condemned US foreign policy and deridedGeorge W. Bush as 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 too 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 theIsrael–Palestine conflict.[150]
By 2010, under Heinz-Christian Strache's leadership, the party became more supportive ofIsrael. In December 2010, the FPÖ (along with the representatives of like-minded rightist parties) visited Israel, where they issued the "Jerusalem Declaration", which affirmed Israel'sright to exist and defend itself, particularly against Islamic terror.[151][152][153] The party alsorecognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital.[154] At the FPÖ's invitation,Israeli Druze MKAyoob Kara of theLikud party subsequently visited Vienna.[155] After theOctober 7 attacks, FPÖ leader Kickl expressed unequivocal support for Israel's right to self defense and called for Austria to advocate for Israel within the EU by opposing resolutions critical of Israel and supporting Israeli security measures.[156] Kickl declined to back a ceasefire in theGaza war, stating, "As long as the terrorists of Hamas hold Israeli hostages captive, a ceasefire is unlikely", though he supported an Austrian role in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians for atwo-state solution.[157]
Strache, at about the same time, said he wanted to meet with the front figures of the AmericanTea Party movement (which he described as "highly interesting").[153][158]
Even before joining the supranationalMovement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF; now renamedPatriots.eu) in 2014, the FPÖ had ties with several European political parties and groupings. Additionally, according to political analyst Thomas Hofer, the party's policies and brash style helped inspire like-minded parties across Europe.[159]
In 1978, under the party's liberal leadership, the FPÖ became a member of theLiberal International, which it left in 1993, forestalling its imminent exclusion.[51] In the early years of Haider's leadership, around 1990, meetings were held with figures such asJean-Marie Le Pen of the FrenchNational Front andFranz Schönhuber of the GermanRepublicans.[160]
In the late 1990s, however, he chose to distance himself from Le Pen, and refused to join Le Pen'sEuroNat project. Following the FPÖ's entrance in government in 2000, Haider sought to establish his own alliance of right-wing parties. For his project, Haider tried to establish stable cooperations with theVlaams Blok party in Belgium and theNorthern League party in Italy, as well as some other parties and party groupings. In the end, the efforts to establish a new alliance of parties were not successful.[161]
However, it rejected association withSteve Bannon'sThe Movement, stating that its alliances in Europe would be pursued independently of influence from the United States.[178]
Though the FPÖ previously had relations with the IsraeliLikud,[179][180] Likud has stated that it has not had contact with the FPÖ since the resignation of Strache as party leader.[181] Vilimsky has blamedOskar Deutsch of theJewish Community of Vienna for the deterioration in relations, and suggested that the FPÖ would seek relations with other right-wing parties in Israel which Deutsch does not have influence over.[182] The FPÖ claimed Likud had re-established relations in February 2025, following Likud's decision to join Patriots.eu,[183] but Likud subsequently distanced itself, noting that the FPÖ had "not yet taken a firm, public, and unambiguous stance in support of Israel", while expressing openness to future ties if the FPÖ takes more pro-Israel stances.[184]
Alongside the HungarianFidesz and the CzechANO, the FPÖ was a founding member of thePatriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, hosting its announcement event in Vienna in June 2024.[191]
States in which the FPÖ is involved in the state government as a senior coalition partner (Dark Blue). States in which the FPÖ is involved in the state government as a junior coalition partner (Blue). States in which the FPÖ is represented in the state parliament as an opposition party (Light Blue)
Bold indicates best result to date. Present in legislature (in opposition) / Present in presidential first round Junior coalition partner / Present in presidential second round Senior coalition partner / Presidential winner
^The party was formerly part ofID Group (2019–2024),ENF (2015–2019),NI (2007–2015),ITS (2007) andNI (1996–2007) .
^The SPÖ and its chairmanBruno Kreisky did not criticise Reder's release itself, as they themselves had pleaded Italy for it, but that it was Frischenschlager's official state reception of Reder that remained controversial.[53]
^The incident started when Haider proposed in parliament to require able-bodied welfare recipients to accept public service work assignments. Following this proposal, an SPÖ delegate shouted that the proposal was akin to the forced labour of the Third Reich, which led Haider to retort; "at least in the Third Reich there was a decent employment policy, which is more than can be said for what your government in Vienna can manage." Haider later apologized and distanced himself from his remark.[58]
• Hainsworth, Paul (2008),The Extreme Right in Western Europe, Routledge, pp. 38–39
• Art, David (2011),Inside the Radical Right: The Development of Anti-Immigrant Parties in Western Europe, Cambridge University Press, pp. 106–107
• Wodak, Ruth; De Cillia, Rudolf; Reisigl, Martin (2009),The Discursive Construction of National Identity (2nd ed.), Edinburgh University Press, p. 195
• Hale Williams, Michelle (2012), "Downside after the summit: factors in extreme-right party decline in France and Austria",Mapping the Extreme Right in Contemporary Europe: From Local to Transnational, Routledge, p. 260
^Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (18 July 2008)."Austrian State Treaty, 1955".2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved9 January 2025.
^"Harald Weyel: Conference in Florida – together for liberal politics".Presseportal. 18 April 2024.Prof. Dr. Harald Weyel, deputy treasurer of the AfD, took part in a panel discussion of the youth organization of the US Republican Party in Tampa on April 13. He discussed common solutions to the destructive politics on both sides of the Atlantic with Harald Vilimsky, member of the European Parliament for the FPÖ
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Luther, Kurt Richard (2008). "Electoral Strategies and Performance of Austrian Right-Wing Populism, 1986–2006". In Günter Bischof; Fritz Plasser (eds.).The Changing Austrian Voter. Contemporary Austrian Studies. Vol. 16. New Brunswick NJ: Transaction Publishers. pp. 104–122.
Plasser, Fritz; Ulram, Peter A. (2003). "Striking a Responsive Chord: Mass Media and Right-Wing Populism in Austria".The Media and Neo-populism: A Contemporary Comparative Analysis. Westport CT: Praeger. pp. 21–43.ISBN0-275-97492-8.
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