ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the heuristic value of various terms such as "neo-populist" and "extreme right", followed by a comparison of the Freedom Party (FPO) and other extreme right parties with special attention to their central political elements and fields of political activity. It investigates the roots and history of the FPO, the extreme right party with the most votes, which is to date the only one to join a governing coalition in European Union (EU) member state. The chapter looks into the causes—both internal and external—of the Haider-FPO' success and its rise from a party garnering a mere 5" at the polls to Austria's second strongest party with almost 27" of the vote. Welfare chauvinism is one of the main agenda points of the Haider-FPO's anti-foreigner policy: "One characteristic of this policy was to point out that foreigners would exploit the Austrian system of social welfare". "Haiderism" is by no means an Austrian political export product.
