Introduction

This chapter examines the long-term historical context of access to the polls and changing electoral outcomes. It focuses on electoral strategies and the performance of Austrian right wing populism from 1986 to 2006. Declining turnout and the growing importance of issue- and performance-oriented evaluations for influencing voting decisions are indicators of the modernization of Austrian electoral behavior, clearly now approaching European mainstream voting behavior. In the National Election of 1975, only 3 percent voted for another party than they had voted for in the previous election; in 2006 there was a whopping 26 percent of party changers. This was the highest change rate in Austrian elections to date. It shows how much Austrian voting behavior has approached the European mainstream. The results of the Austrian National Elections of 2006 demonstrate that elections have become a referendum regarding the performance and policies of the governing parties. The chapter also presents an overview of key concepts discussesd in this book.