ABSTRACT
The personality cult surrounding Jörg Haider (1950–2008), who had been the longstanding leader of the extreme-right Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ), the Austrian Freedom Party, is a remarkable example of the construction of charisma and its function in public perceptions. To a certain degree, charisma is derived from an individual’s character and how this appeals to the broad masses. But to reduce charisma to nothing else would miss the more exciting part: how perceptions of charisma actually work, for instance how specific personal traits are perceived by followers as truly charismatic. In the case of Haider, it is the attribution of Volksnähe (populism, closeness to ‘common’ people), which acquired a specific, ideological slant and carried connotations such as ‘representative of the true will of the people’ in questions concerning immigration and authoritarian approaches to law enforcement. After Haider’s death, even former political opponents praised his charisma as an ‘outstanding politician’ and ‘exceptional political talent’, thereby unwittingly reaffirming parts of this imagery that Haider had propagated about himself.
