Far-right party founded by Nazis favorite in Austria’s Sunday election

By Askin Kiyagan

VIENNA (AA) — Despite its Nazi roots, the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), which is leading in recent public opinion polls, is expected to emerge victorious in the general election on Sunday.

The FPO has been leading polls since its victory in the European Parliament elections in June.

For the first time since World War II, the far-right is poised to finish first in an election, with all polls in Austria predicting the FPO as the likely winner of the parliamentary election. The party is expected to secure at least 28% of the vote.

Following Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933, Nazi ideology began to spread in Austria, driven by the dream of creating a "Greater German Empire." Austria, which was then an independent state, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 and became a Reich Province.

The FPO was founded in 1956 by Anton Reinthaller, an Austrian Nazi who had previously served as a lieutenant general in the SS, the Nazis' paramilitary wing, as well as a member of the Nazi parliament until the end of WWII.

After his prison sentence following the war, Reinthaller, along with other Nazi figures, founded the FPO and served as its chairman until his death in 1958.

During the Cold War, the party made little progress due to lingering World War II memories, new Holocaust revelations, and the deep scars left by this horrific genocide.

- Rise of far-right under Haider

In 1986, Jorg Haider, a 46-year-old politician, took over the party leadership. Under Haider, the FPO shifted from a nationalist and liberal rhetoric to a more right-wing, populist stance.

Haider steadily increased the party's vote share by focusing on anti-EU rhetoric, promoting nationalism, and capitalizing on rising anti-immigrant sentiment. He also challenged the dominance of the center-right Austrian People’s Party (OVP) and the Social Democratic Party (SPO), which had shared power for decades.

In the 1999 election, Haider’s FPO received 26.9% of the vote, tying with the Social Democrats and securing second place. It was the first time since World War II that the far-right had achieved such a highest vote share, leading to the formation of a coalition government with the OVP.

- First international intervention against FPO

The prospect of a far-right party sharing power in Europe alarmed many. After intense pressure from the EU and countries like Israel, Haider was excluded from the coalition government.

This exclusion disappointed voters and resulted in a significant drop in support for the FPO. In the 2002 snap election, the party lost 16.9% of its vote share, suffering a major defeat.

- Strache's rise, focus on anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish rhetoric

The loss triggered internal divisions and a leadership change. In 2005, dental technician Heinz-Christian Strache was elected as the new leader.

Strache, who had led the party’s Vienna branch, became known for his anti-Islam, anti-Turkish, and anti-immigrant rhetoric, particularly during local elections. Under his leadership, the FPO’s political stance shifted significantly.

Strache explicitly targeted Islam and Muslims, focusing particularly on the Turkish population. He also adopted a hardline position against Türkiye’s bid for EU membership. This anti-Islam and anti-immigrant rhetoric resonated strongly with right-wing and center-right voters.

Although Strache lacked Haider’s political skill and charisma, he successfully grew the party’s vote share through provocative, exclusionary, and inflammatory slogans reminiscent of Nazi propaganda, under the guidance of his campaign manager, Herbert Kickl.

Faced with Strache's rise, Austria’s traditional parties struggled to offer effective counter-narratives, which further accelerated the electorate's shift to the right.

In the 2013 general election, despite competition from other right-wing parties like Haider’s breakaway Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZO) and the populist Team Stronach, the FPO still increased its vote share to 20.5%.

- Internal challenges to FPO

Experts believe that if these three right-wing parties had united under a single banner, they could have captured around 30% of the vote.

The political movement led by billionaire Frank Stronach, who later disbanded his party after announcing he would not run in the 2017 elections, was seen as an effort to slow Strache's momentum.

- Far-Right gains momentum with refugee crisis

The 2015 refugee crisis in Europe further bolstered the FPO, led by Heinz-Christian Strache, and enhanced the party's appeal.

In the 2016 presidential election, FPO candidate Norbert Hofer secured approximately 35% of the vote in the first round, raising fears that a far-right figure could ascend to Austria’s highest office.

Voter turnout, typically low in presidential elections due to their largely symbolic nature, surged above 74% in the second round of the 2016 election. Alexander Van der Bellen, a former Green Party co-chair who ran as an independent, won the presidency with 53% after receiving 21% of the vote in the first round.

- Former Chancellor Kurz aligns with far-right ideology

Recognizing that temporary measures would not stop the FPO's rise, the young rising star of the center-right OVP, Sebastian Kurz, stepped into the political spotlight. Kurz was just 27 years old when he became Austria's foreign minister, quickly climbing the ranks of his party. While it was widely anticipated that he would eventually lead the OVP, Kurz made his move sooner than expected.

Amid the 2015 migration crisis, Kurz, the then-foreign minister, shifted away from his previously positive relations with foreign communities, particularly Turks, and began directly targeting Türkiye.

His anti-Türkiye rhetoric resonated with right-wing voters, and as integration minister, Kurz also made changes to the 1912 Islam Law, which had officially recognized Islam in Austria, affecting the lives of Muslims negatively.

Kurz adopted anti-refugee and anti-immigrant stances, mimicking much of the far-right party's rhetoric, positioning the OVP as a viable alternative for far-right supporters.

Despite Strache’s claims that Kurz was merely imitating the FPO and that his party was the authentic voice of far-right politics, these accusations failed to sway voters. In the 2017 election, the OVP, which had been polling at around 18%, surged past 30% under Kurz's leadership and became the leading party.

- Far-Right coalition

Kurz then formed a coalition with the far-right FPO, whose platform had grown nearly identical to that of the OVP. From November 2017 to May 2019, the far-right coalition government introduced a series of measures targeting Muslims, Türkiye, and immigrants, including a ban on headscarves in primary schools and kindergartens, the establishment of the Documentation Center for Political Islam, and framing Muslims as a security threat.

Although the FPO was the junior partner in the coalition, it succeeded in bringing its views to power.

- FPO shaken by corruption

In May 2019, a video surfaced showing Vice-Chancellor and FPO leader Strache on the Spanish island of Ibiza, discussing state contracts and the sale of shares in Austria’s largest newspaper to Russian businessmen in exchange for political support. The scandal not only ended the coalition but also marked the end of Strache's political career.

Following these corruption allegations, the FPO saw a significant drop in support.

In the 2019 elections, the FPO fell from second to third place, while Kurz’s OVP, benefiting from far-right rhetoric, won 37% of the vote, emerging victorious.

While the FPO withdrew to rebuild, far-right ideology remained a dominant force under Kurz. Until his resignation in October 2021, due to investigations into perjury, corruption, and unfair competition, anti-Islam and anti-immigrant sentiments shaped much of his government’s policies.

During his second coalition government, this time with the Green Party, policies such as the controversial "Islam Map," which targeted Muslim institutions, and "Operation Luxor," a series of police raids against prominent Muslims under the guise of anti-terrorism efforts, sparked significant concern.

- Far-Right ideology thrives without FPO

While the FPO struggled with internal challenges like corruption and leadership changes, far-right ideology continued to hold sway in government.

The Social Democratic Party (SPO), traditionally supported by Austria's foreign-born and Muslim populations, could only offer the slogan, "Vote for us, or the far-right will take over," as a counter-narrative.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent government measures, and later the war in Ukraine and rising inflation as rallying points, the FPO slowly regained its footing.

The party saw its first major victory in the European Parliament elections of June 6-9, where it emerged as the leading party for the first time since World War II.

As of now, national polls predict that the FPO will secure at least 28% of the vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections on Sunday.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul