Alliance for the Future of Austria

The Bündnis Zukunft Österreich (BZÖ) is a right-wing populist Austrian party. It was founded in April 2005 by members of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) around Jörg Haider. In the 2006 and 2008 National Council elections, the BZÖ managed to enter parliament, and in the 2009 European elections it also managed to enter the European Parliament with one of a total of 19 mandates from Austria. However, the party failed to clear the 4% hurdle in the 2013 National Council elections.

Apart from Carinthia, the party is hardly represented at provincial and municipal level. In December 2009 the Carinthian regional group broke away from the parent party and cooperated with the FPÖ under the name Die Freiheitlichen in Kärnten (The Freedom Party of Carinthia) until July 2013, after which it was completely absorbed into the FPÖ. Since the death of Jörg Haider, the leadership of the BZÖ has tried to increasingly appeal to liberal business voters. Party chairman (Bundesbündnisobmann) was Josef Bucher from 2009 to October 2013. After his resignation, Gerald Grosz was elected as the new Alliance Chairman, followed by Johanna Trodt-Limpl on 30 March 2015, who was, however, expelled from the Carinthian regional group in July 2017 as a result of internal disputes. Officially, however, this had no effect on her function in the federal party. The dissolution of the BZÖ Vienna took place in July 2019. Currently, the party exists practically only in Carinthia under its regional chairman Helmut Nikel, a local councillor from Grafenstein.

According to Carinthian Secretary General Karlheinz Klement, the BZÖ planned to make a comeback at the federal level in the 2019 National Council elections in Austria, but due to a lack of support declarations it was only on the ballot in Carinthia. Within Carinthia, the party achieved 0.2% of the vote.

Content profile

Since the unexpected death of Jörg Haider, the party has endeavoured to give itself a profile that is independent of his person and distinguishable from the resurgent FPÖ. Josef Bucher tried to position the party as "right-wing liberal" - liberal above all in questions of economic policy, but restrictive on issues such as migration. This was only partially successful. In 2011, Andreas Krischhofer of the Linz-based opinion institute IMAS analysed the public perception of the BZÖ as follows: "The BZÖ is not perceived as an economic liberal party, but as a moderate FPÖ." The party leader had not succeeded in winning the self-employed, entrepreneurs and freelancers as a voter group, but skilled workers and white-collar workers. The BZÖ does not appeal to the young like the FPÖ, but to the 30 to 50 year olds. On the other hand, the BZÖ is more preferred by women than by men in elections.

Positions as a National Council Party

The following positions are taken from the party programme of the BZÖ from 2010, when the party was still represented in the National Council.

Economic policy

In the field of economic policy, the BZÖ, according to its self-image, represents a classically liberal line. It is committed to a freely competitive social market economy based on private property. For the BZÖ, the willingness to perform is paramount and should therefore be promoted. Following this idea social hammocks are to be cleared out of the way and an incentive system is to be created, which animates so-called achievement unwilling. The present tax system would have to be reformed in favor of the middle class and a uniform tax for enterprises would have to be introduced. In addition, the BZÖ wants to initiate privatization steps in order to create different framework conditions for the Austrian economy. The establishment of an infrastructure corporation or freer entrepreneurship in general should also contribute to this. On the other hand, the BZÖ rejects the privatisation of basic services, such as water, and opposes fracking as a method of energy production. In addition, the BZÖ has introduced the foreigner check for labour migrants, which is modelled on a clearly defined points system in Canada or Australia. Immigrants who meet the requirements, have a good knowledge of German, a high level of education and are able to work should be granted the right to stay. An entitlement to social benefits should only exist after a longer period of employment in Austria. Short forms of residence are envisaged, which only allow family reunification and permanent residence after repeated success.

Foreign Policy

The BZÖ's basic programme, approved in 2010, advocates a pro-European but EU-critical stance. It calls for more transparency, citizen participation and a reduction of bureaucracy within the European Union. In addition, since the party was founded, there has been a desire to create a so-called core Europe, around which countries that are less able to participate in shaping the policies of the Union should exist. In order to set up such a model, according to the party's manifesto, it would be necessary to introduce three different stages. On the first level are those countries that want to work on the whole Union, on the second those that only implement parts, and on the third are those - such as Turkey - for which only partnership is an option. For the BZÖ, however, it is also clear that the freedom of the individual citizen always takes precedence over the further development of the integration process. Through cooperation with neighbouring states, the alliance aims to secure economic and social prosperity. In terms of foreign policy, the BZÖ was the only party in the National Council to resolutely call for NATO membership. In its current programme, however, the BZÖ rejects Austria's accession to NATO as well as an EU army.

Security policy

In addition to a strong state, the BZÖ also wants to involve the private sector in the fight against crime in the area of internal security. Savings and staff reductions are rejected, as strengthening the police is paramount. In order to protect freedom, the BZÖ demands the expansion of video surveillance systems, but is clearly against unjustified observation by the state. In particular, the party wants to stop the transmission of data to the United States. Great importance is attached to combating drug-related crime and Islamic fundamentalism, which the BZÖ regards as a threat to security. A standardization of the building code should therefore exclude the construction of mosques and minarets. As far as asylum is concerned, the BZÖ is committed to Austria's humanitarian tasks, but wants to stop the influx of so-called economic refugees. It also wants to prevent overcrowding by enforcing compliance with the Dublin Agreement. The participation of asylum seekers in the procedures is a priority; severely delayed processes are to be solved by checking the degree of integration. In addition, asylum seekers should be obliged to perform community service.

Social policy

On socio-political issues, the BZÖ holds different positions. While the party tends towards so-called gay marriage in the case of equal rights for homosexual couples, its position on the protection of ethnic minorities is clearly less liberal. For the pension system, the BZÖ wants the introduction of a 3-pillar model, consisting of a state pension, employee provision and private pension provision, and the abolition of privileges and favours in companies close to the state. This is intended to prevent several systems from coming into effect at the same time. The BZÖ particularly wants to promote the private pension system. In order to reduce the income gap between the sexes, the BZÖ demands more women in top positions and the introduction or increase of statutory minimum wages.

Education policy

According to the BZÖ programme, the education system should make it possible to avoid individual gaps when entering professional life. Therefore, education should already begin in kindergarten. Among other things, one wants to start there with German courses to eliminate the language weaknesses of many children, so that they can be better integrated into society. In addition, the BZÖ considers it necessary to introduce a limit on the proportion of children of non-German native speakers in school classes. Furthermore, the party demands the introduction of common schooling for 6- to 15-year-olds with internal differentiation. At universities, there should be enrolment and tuition fees to prevent the rush. Furthermore, the party wants to promote private universities.

Current positions

The BZÖ still sees itself in the political tradition of Jörg Haider and in part continues to pursue similar positions to those mentioned above. However, at the latest since the comeback attempt under Karlheinz Klement and Helmut Nikel, more radical positions have also found their way into the party programme, and the BZÖ positions itself significantly further to the right on some issues than during its time in the National Council. The party actively fanned the flames of conspiracy theories surrounding the accidental death of its founder; Karlheinz Klement himself, in lectures immediately before his appointment as secretary-general, clearly espoused positions that could be assigned to the extreme right-wing spectrum, such as the thesis of a "Jewish-Masonic world conspiracy". For a short time, Martin Sellner, spokesman for the Identitarian Movement Austria, had been discussed as a top candidate for the BZÖ or its Alliance of Patriots in the 2019 National Council election. In the ensuing debate, the Alliance of Patriots was described as a grouping "...consisting of, among others, anti-vaccinationists, anti-abortionists, opponents of smart meters (a "smart" electricity meter" that is said to emit dangerous radiation). And now also identitarians."

National Organizations

After the split of the BZÖ, the regional organisations of the FPÖ behaved very differently. In Lower Austria, Salzburg and Burgenland there were hardly any notable conversions to the BZÖ, and the BZÖ regional groups there were launched relatively late.

Carinthia

The Carinthian FPÖ, which according to its statutes enjoys far-reaching autonomy, joined the BZÖ almost unanimously under the name "Die Freiheitlichen in Kärnten" (The Freedom Party in Carinthia) and formed by far the strongest regional group until it left the BZÖ in December 2009. The regional party chairman was Jörg Haider. Franz Schwager, member of the provincial parliament, the prominent former FPÖ functionaries Alois Huber and Kriemhild Trattnig as well as Andreas Mölzer remained with the FPÖ. In the state parliamentary elections in March 2009, the BZÖ with top candidate Gerhard Dörfler was able to achieve 44.9% of the vote, while the FPÖ, massively weakened as a result, failed to clear the 5% hurdle. However, the BZÖ Carinthia split from the federal party in December 2009 after internal party conflicts and founded Die Freiheitlichen in Kärnten as a partner of the FPÖ.

In December 2009, during a joint press conference with the chairman of the FPÖ, Heinz-Christian Strache, the then Carinthian BZÖ chairman Uwe Scheuch announced that the Carinthian state party would be splitting from the BZÖ and announced that in future it would cooperate with the FPÖ at federal level. The cooperation should follow the German CDU-CSU model. The Freedom Party in Carinthia stressed that this was not a merger, but that it would continue to exist as an independent regional party, which in future would operate under the abbreviation FPK. The reason given for the separation from the BZÖ was, among other things, the right-wing liberal course taken under the leader of the alliance, Bucher. The federal leadership of the BZÖ, on the other hand, resisted the move, which - according to Bucher - had "no legal foundation". The BZÖ sought at the regional party conference of the Carinthian Freedom Party in January 2010, a ballot on the future direction of the state party. Uwe Scheuch was re-elected chairman of the Freedom Party in Carinthia (unopposed) with 90.15 percent of the delegates' votes; the approval of cooperation with Heinz-Christian Strache's FPÖ was unanimous in an open vote.

On 30 January 2010 the founding convention of the new Carinthian BZÖ followed the FPK split. A party statute based on the programme of the federal party was adopted, federal party leader Bucher was also elected BZÖ regional party leader with 99.6 percent of the delegates' votes (also without any opposing candidates), and Stefan Petzner was unanimously elected executive leader of the Carinthian regional party. In the former stronghold of Haider, they counted 1200 members, with a reconstruction of the structures by the federal party, this was primarily intended to run in the next National Council election. On March 25, 2011 Sigisbert Dolinschek was appointed executive chairman of the BZÖ Carinthia and his predecessor Petzner due to massive speeding without a driver's license replaced as head of the provincial party.

In the course of the campaign for the Carinthian state elections on 3 March 2013, which was led by Stefan Petzner, the BZÖ attracted attention through the publication of a YouTube video entitled Wege zur Freiheit (Paths to Freedom), in which FPK state governor Gerhard Dörfler and other members of the state government are compared to Erich Honecker, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Hosni Mubarak, Slobodan Milošević and George W. Bush. On 15 February 2013, the video had to be taken offline; Deputy Governor and FPK leader Kurt Scheuch had previously obtained an injunction.

In the state parliamentary election on 3 March 2013, the newly founded BZÖ Kärnten achieved only 6.48 %, which left it well behind the FPK's almost 17 % and made it the smallest force in the state parliament with two deputies. After the BZÖ failed to enter the Austrian parliament in the National Council election at the end of September 2013 (despite a 10.8 % result in Carinthia), the BZÖ regional party chairman Sigisbert Dolinschek also withdrew from politics. Stefan Petzner and Ewald Stadler had already been expelled from the party earlier. Johanna Trodt-Limpl, one of the two BZÖ representatives in the Carinthian state parliament, and Helmut Nikel, municipal councillor of Grafenstein, led the Carinthian BZÖ until the state party conference on 30 November 2013, at which Trodt-Limpl was elected the new state party leader with 63.3 % of the votes.

In July 2017, Johanna Trodt-Limpl and Wilhelm Korak, the last two state parliamentary representatives of the BZÖ nationwide, resigned from the regional group of the BZÖ Carinthia after internal disputes and allegations of abuse. Since June 2017, the new chairman of the alliance of the BZÖ Carinthia is the Grafenstein councillor Helmut Nikel. In the 2018 state election, the alliance with Nikel lost 6.03% and achieved only 0.37% under Nikel; in his home municipality, the BZÖ still managed 8.36%. Since the election, the BZÖ Carinthia has continued its work at the municipal level, where local groups still exist.

Since the dissolution of the Viennese regional organization, the BZÖ Carinthia is the only remaining remnant of the former National Council party. In the summer of 2019, BZÖ regional party leader Karlheinz Klement launched an "Alliance of Patriots" consisting of anti-vaccinationists, anti-abortionists and opponents of the smart meter, an electricity meter that allegedly emits dangerous radiation. The head of Austria's far-right Identitarian movement Martin Sellner also joined. Sellner was to be the top candidate for the National Council election, but declined, saying he wanted to stick to "patriotic actionism". He wanted to continue to support the BZÖ as a "patriotic party", however. At the beginning of September 2019, ORF Carinthia received a letter stating that Nikel, Klement and Rutter had been expelled from the party. The letter was signed by chairman deputy Karl Heinz Nadasdy "and two other board members". In a message from Nikel received shortly afterwards, on the other hand, it was stated that Nadasdy and the two board members were the excluded persons; the exclusions mentioned in their letters had "nothing to do with official decisions of the BZÖ Carinthia". In Carinthia, the BZÖ (which had only contested there) came to 0.2 percent of the vote in the National Council election on 29 September 2019. In December 2019, at the state convention, Nikel was confirmed as state chairman, Elisabeth Steiner and Siegfried Plausteiner serve as his deputies, and Jürgen Laßnig is the finance officer.

Burgenland

In Burgenland, the BZÖ regional group was led by Jörg Steiner in the early years; he succeeded BZÖ-Burgenland founder and ex-state secretary Karl Schweitzer in 2008. Deputy chairman became Michael Weismayr. Both in the 2005 and 2010 state elections, the BZÖ did not run and had therefore hardly appeared in Burgenland. On 9 November 2010 it was announced that it would run in the 2012 municipal elections in some municipalities, including Eisenstadt and Oberwart. However, this did not happen. In July 2012 the former regional spokesman Dieter Herist became the managing regional chairman of the Burgenland regional party. A group of remaining members of the BZÖ Burgenland reformed in June 2017 as Die Orangen Burgenland (DOB). The regional group professes its allegiance to the Third Camp and Jörg Haider. They define themselves as "orange libertarians" and see themselves as an "edgy further development" of the BZÖ Burgenland. Among other things, an end to the climate lie or an EU exit is demanded. The Oranges announced in autumn 2019 that they want to participate in the regional elections in Burgenland in 2020. In December, the group announced on Facebook that the "undemocratic signature hurdle" had been too high. There was also an election recommendation for the Burgenland list, where ex-BZÖ provincial leader Jörg Steiner is running as list runner-up.

Lower Austria

In January 2006 the BZÖ was founded in Lower Austria. Initially, the National Council member Anton Wattaul became chairman, but after his premature resignation Thomas Bauer was in charge in the meantime. Since the regional convention on 24 November 2007 Peter Staudigl was chairman of the BZÖ Lower Austria. After the disastrous election result in the Lower Austrian state election with top candidate Hans Jörg Schimanek Staudigl resigned as chairman. Interim Christine Döttelmayer led the BZÖ Lower Austria until the election of a new chairman. This election was intended to bring about a generational change, in order to help the alliance, which appeared as a "new movement", to have a better external impact with new faces. In the Lower Austrian parliamentary elections of 2008, the BZÖ achieved only 0.72 % of the votes.

On 3 April 2009, Ewald Stadler took over the post of Alliance Chairman of the BZÖ Lower Austria. The BZÖ did not run in the parliamentary elections in Lower Austria in March 2013. After the defeat in the 2013 National Council election, Stadler was expelled from the BZÖ for "conduct detrimental to the party". The then MEP subsequently formed an alliance with the CPÖ - Christian Party of Austria and contested the 2014 European elections under the name Die Reformkonservativen (The Reform Conservatives).

At a new founding convention on 7 December 2013 in St. Pölten, Dominik Lutz was elected as the new regional chairman. Furthermore, the party's federal chairman Grosz announced the start of a cooperation and partnership with the citizens' movement Die Mutbürger (M) in Lower Austria.

Upper Austria

The FPÖ regional group of Upper Austria initially uncoupled itself from the federal party (Linz Declaration) in order to go its own independent way and not to be drawn too deeply into the disputes of the two federal groupings. After lengthy negotiations and a vote at the provincial party conference, however, the provincial group rejoined the federal FPÖ. The BZÖ, which had hoped for a long time to be able to draw the Upper Austrian Freedom Party to its side, finally founded its own regional group in November 2005. Ursula Haubner was elected provincial chairwoman. In the 2009 state election in Upper Austria, the BZÖ came with its candidacy with the name "Alliance Future Austria - List Uschi Haubner (BZÖ)" on 2.83% and missed by 1.27% the entry into the Upper Austrian parliament. Former BZÖ politician Rainer Widmann ran as Upper Austrian top candidate for Karl Schnell's Free List Austria (FLÖ) in the 2017 National Council election. He is sure "that if Jörg Haider were still alive, he would lead the Free List Austria". In January 2017 Haubner handed over the provincial party to Siegfried Berlinger, the mayor of Sankt Roman, in this context the party name was changed to Bündnis für Oberösterreich (BfO). Ultimately, the former BZÖ groups switched to the Bürgerlisten Oberösterreich in the run-up to the 2021 state election in Upper Austria. Due to the statutes of the Citizens' List Party, this is done by dissolution of the BZÖ and individual accession of community groups after renaming, this also includes two incumbent mayors from the former Alliance for Upper Austria.

Salzburg

In March 2006, the regional group Salzburg was founded. The former State Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Eduard Mainoni, who retired to the private sector after leaving the federal government and also resigned from his party functions, was elected Provincial Chairman. The Salzburg party chair is currently held by former GZÖ chairman Robert Stark. In the 2009 state elections, the BZÖ achieved 3.7 % through a list cooperation with the Salzburg municipal councillor Doris Tazl, with which the entry into the state parliament could not be achieved, in the municipal council and mayoral elections in Salzburg, which took place at the same time, again succeeded in entering the municipal council in five municipalities. The BZÖ did not run in the state elections in Salzburg in May 2013. In 2014, ex-BZÖ Secretary of State Mainoni stood in the municipal elections in the city of Salzburg as Team Salzburg - Edi Mainoni (EDI). However, the entry into the Salzburg City Hall was clearly missed with 847 votes. In July 2017, the Free Voters Salzburg were formed, these were founded by the Salzburg ex-BZÖ member and ex-Team Stronach member Helmut Naderer.

Styria

In Styria, three of the seven FPÖ members of parliament initially switched to the BZÖ. As early as June 2005, the Styrian BZÖ with chairman Gerald Grosz was founded as the first regional group after Carinthia. However, in the Styrian state parliamentary elections held the following October, the BZÖ with top candidate Michael Schmid achieved only 1.72 % of the votes. In the municipal elections in Graz in 2008, the BZÖ achieved 4.3 % of the votes and was thus represented in Graz with two mandataries in the municipal council. The election slogan, which was apparently part of the political program, was "We clean Graz." The Research Centre for Austrian German chose it as the slogan of the year 2007, because the party thereby contributed to the exclusion and dehumanisation of people. It wanted to "cleanse Graz of 'undesirables' and thus, both in its choice of words and its intentions, hark back to times that were considered to have been overcome".

In the regional elections in Styria held in September 2010, the BZÖ with top candidate Gerald Grosz achieved 2.98 % of the votes and once again failed to enter the regional parliament. Grosz had resigned from his local council mandate in the course of the state parliament election and had announced for a non-move-in: "Then there will be no more of me in politics". Contrary to his own statement, Grosz remained in politics and ran as the top candidate of the BZÖ - Liste Gerald Grosz (BZÖ) for the municipal council election in Graz in 2012, in which the party achieved 1.35% and thus dropped out of the municipal council.

From 4 December 2012 to 15 March 2013, the regional association of Styria was led by the managing regional chairwoman Martina Schenk, before Schenk transferred to Team Stronach with immediate effect on 15 March. Several dissatisfied party members from Styria resigned from the BZÖ after the lost National Council election in October 2013, in addition, the only Styrian regional office in Voitsberg was also closed. Former orange municipal councillors continue their work at municipal level as independent elected representatives. The BZÖ did not run in the municipal elections in Styria on 22 March 2015.

Tyrol

The last of the provincial organisations to be founded was the BZÖ Tirol, headed by Hans Jörg Stock. After the BZÖ split at federal level, the two FPÖ state parliamentary representatives had initially declared their allegiance to the BZÖ, but later founded a "state parliamentary club of the free" independent of the FPÖ and BZÖ. The former Tyrolean FP leader state parliamentary deputy Willi Tilg resigned from the BZÖ after only a few weeks and founded the golden-yellow Free Party of Tyrol (FPT), which aimed primarily to appeal to the middle classes and small and medium-sized businesses. In the upcoming state elections in Tyrol there was an electoral alliance of the "Landtagsklub der Freien" and the BZÖ under the joint list name Bündnis Freier Tiroler (BFT). Under pressure from the federal party, however, the electoral alliance was dissolved, whereupon BZÖ Tyrol chairman Hans Jörg Stock resigned his position. The BZÖ Tirol therefore did not contest the state parliamentary elections.

On 19 April 2009 Gerhard Huber from East Tyrol was elected chairman of the Tyrolean BZÖ. On 18 June 2011 it was announced that the new Innsbruck City Party would be led by Udo Brunner and that it would run in the 2012 municipal elections. However, this did not happen, as it did not manage to run, as it did in the following state elections.

Vorarlberg

The FPÖ regional group of Vorarlberg also initially announced an independent path, but decided a few days later to remain with the FPÖ. The BZÖ founded its own regional group in March 2006. The first chairman was the former FPÖ federal manager Arno Eccher. From 8 May 2009 until his switch to Team Stronach on 12 October 2012, National Council member Christoph Hagen was elected provincial chairman. Currently Manfred Dorn leads the provincial group as provincial chairman. In the 2009 Vorarlberg state election, they failed with only 1.2% clearly at the five-percent hurdle necessary for entry into the state parliament. In 2015, BZÖ provincial leader Dorn announced that as soon as a suitable candidate emerged and enough money was available, they would once again contest elections as BZÖ-Vorarlberg. Above all, the lack of party structures is a problem. The party did not run in the 2019 state elections.

Vienna

In Vienna, shortly after the split from the federal FPÖ, an independent BZÖ regional group was formed, which was also joined by 8 of the 21 FPÖ MPs in the Landtag/municipal council. Under the leadership of the chairman Günther Barnet, the BZÖ Vienna entered the regional elections in October 2005 with top candidate Hans Jörg Schimanek, but only achieved 1.15% of the votes and thus remained far behind the FPÖ. Since the state convention on 2 June 2007, Michael Tscharnutter was elected state chairman of the BZÖ Vienna. In the Viennese election in 2010, the BZÖ with the non-partisan top candidate Walter Sonnleitner was able to record a slight gain to 1.33% of the vote, but this was not nearly enough to enter the city hall.

In 2010, Viennese BZÖ functionaries split off and founded a Free Alliance Future (FBZ), which professed classical liberal principles. Two years later, it was re-established as the Party of Freedom (PDF) through a merger with other ex-BZÖ and ex-FPÖ representatives, with Mathias Brucker once again acting as federal chairman. A blue district councillor from Hietzing switched to the PDF. Among other things, the market-liberal-libertarian party demanded a halving of the state and the dismissal of 150,000 civil servants or the privatization of the school system.

In March 2015, the BZÖ announced its candidacy for the state parliament and municipal council elections in Vienna 2015 on 11 October. On 23 July 2015, Dietmar Schwingenschrot was unanimously confirmed as the regional chairman of the BZÖ Vienna at the extraordinary regional convention in Floridsdorf. In August, the BZÖ announced that it would not run in the Vienna elections. The regional chairman Dietmar Schwingenschrot then announced the support of a new list and acted as its press spokesman. On this list he was in second place behind the top candidate Heinz Pollischansky. With the support of five national council mandataries of Team Stronach, this list was able to run in all districts without further declarations of support and signature lists. This list WWW - We want freedom of choice (WWW) achieved 0.21%. On 18 July 2019, the BZÖ Vienna dissolved itself. Ex-BZÖ Vienna top candidate Hans Jörg Schimanek is meanwhile with his independent list Wir für Floridsdorf since 2010 district council in Floridsdorf.