Are the Austrian FPÖ party really neo-Nazis?

At an FPÖ rally, I mix with those who are both for and vehemently against the controversial party. FPÖ are compared to Nazis, one man says, because the FPÖ is an identity cult which exists only through the leader: “Strache is the FPÖ”.

By Liam McLaughlin

(Photo By Heinz-Christian Strache gives a speech during an FPA- party meeting. Image: Getty )

If Heinz-Christian Strache is nervous, he doesn’t show it. On stage in front of what he later claimed was a crowd of 15 000 people, he is dressed stylishly and speaks with easy authority. Two days before the Austrian national legislative elections, Strache’s speech is the main event at the grand finale of his party’s so-called Nächstenliebe-Tour (Neighbourly Love Tour) at Stefansplatz in Vienna. All eyes are on him.

Strache has been leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) since 2005, and by anyone’s estimations, he is doing a good job. Since then, the FPÖ has been the only party to have seen consistent gains in elections, and two days after his speech at Stefansplatz, Strache’s wish for a “Blue Wonder” was granted. The party won 20.5 per cent of the vote – an increase of three per cent on 2008, with significant gains among younger people and blue-collar workers. The FPÖ is now the strongest it’s been since its record result in 1999.