THE FEDERAL PARTY
The full name of the FPÖ is the “Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) – Die Freiheitlichen” (The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) – the Freiheitlichen). The FPÖ is made up of the federal party and nine provincial parties, each of which has its own legal personality. The federal party has overall responsibility for political work and for organisational co-ordination throughout the whole of Austria. Its headquarters are in Vienna.
The key determinant of the content of the federal party’s activities is the party programme, the current version of which dates from 2011, while the party’s “operational foundation” is provided for by its statutes. They among other things define the individual organs of the federal party. The supreme decision-making body of the FPÖ is the ordinary federal party conference, which takes place at least every three years, and to which the provincial parties send their delegates. It determines the party’s programmatic principles and elects the federal party chairman, or federal party chairwoman, as well as their deputies, of which there are currently six. Meanwhile, the nationwide management of the party is delegated by the statutes to the federal party executive.
The central hub: General Secretariat and Federal Party Office
Of crucial importance for the federal party is also the general secretariat, the “political mouthpiece” of the party, which is charged with strategic planning and media relations. For its part, the federal party office serves as the FPÖ’s Austria-wide head office and is responsible for organisation and administration.
The federal party receives further assistance from its auxiliary organisations, as well as from organisations that are well-disposed towards it. The auxiliary organisations are legally independent associations entitled to seats and voting rights in the federal party executive. Organisations that are merely well-disposed to the FPÖ engage in close political co-operation with the party on the basis of shared values. They do not, however, have the right to vote in party bodies.