Heinz-Christian Strache
Encyclopedia
Heinz-Christian Strache (born 12 June 1969) is an Austria
n politician, member of parliament, former member of the Vienna
city council and political leader of the Freedom Party of Austria
(FPÖ). He is a right-wing politician and an efficient populist
. He prefers to call himself just 'HC' Strache.
, has been active in the politics of Vienna since 1991. In 2004, he replaced Hilmar Kabas
as the leader of the Vienna FPÖ. He had been considered a disciple of long-time national party leader Jörg Haider
, but began to oppose him as the result of increased strife within the party in January 2005. After a series of losses in state elections, rumours spread that Strache would run for the office of national party leader against Haider's sister, Ursula Haubner
. The high risk of Haubner's defeat was probably one of the events that induced Haider to set up a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria
(BZÖ). After the split, Strache was elected national party leader of the FPÖ on 23 April 2005.
Landtag
and was reduced to 5.7% in Burgenland
, it surpassed expectations in the Vienna elections of October 2005. Strache himself was the leading candidate in Vienna, and the party received 14.9% of votes. Strache's campaign, included slogans such as:
Jörg Haider
said about Strache that if he, Haider, had run such a campaign, the press would have been all over him.
The campaign included slogans such as:
Strache was once again accused of xenophobia during his campaign and responded formally in the press to the allegations.
Stills taken from a video shot in the late 1980s were published in January 2007 showing a uniformed Strache allegedly participating in paramilitary training activities. Other people on the pictures were claimed to be known neo-Nazis. Strache has denied the allegations, claiming the pictures are of him playing paintball
as an 18-year old. In his initial reaction, then Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer
referred to the incident as a "folly of youth" (Jugendtorheit).
At the end of January, further pictures were published, allegedly showing Strache performing a Nazi salute
(the Kühnen
salute). Strache denied the allegations prior to publication of the pictures. After publication, Strache argued that the picture showed him ordering three beers and was not a Nazi salute. Austrian Jewish community leaders criticized the government for its lack of response.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n politician, member of parliament, former member of the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
city council and political leader of the Freedom Party of Austria
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
(FPÖ). He is a right-wing politician and an efficient populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
. He prefers to call himself just 'HC' Strache.
Rise to national party leader
Strache, who by training is a dental technicianDental technician
A dental technologist is a member of the dental team who, upon presciption from a dental clinician, constructs custom made restorative and dental appliances.There are four major disciplines within dental technology...
, has been active in the politics of Vienna since 1991. In 2004, he replaced Hilmar Kabas
Hilmar Kabas
Hilmar Kabas is an Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria .Kabas studied law at the University of Vienna...
as the leader of the Vienna FPÖ. He had been considered a disciple of long-time national party leader Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
, but began to oppose him as the result of increased strife within the party in January 2005. After a series of losses in state elections, rumours spread that Strache would run for the office of national party leader against Haider's sister, Ursula Haubner
Ursula Haubner
Ursula Haubner is an Austrian politician of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , formerly of the Austrian Freedom Party . Haubner is married with two daughters and five grandchildren...
. The high risk of Haubner's defeat was probably one of the events that induced Haider to set up a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
The Alliance for the Future of Austria , abbreviated to BZÖ, is a conservative liberal political party in Austria. The party has sixteen seats in the National Council....
(BZÖ). After the split, Strache was elected national party leader of the FPÖ on 23 April 2005.
State elections and the campaign in Vienna
Since the split, the FPÖ's results in state elections have been mixed. While it dropped out of the StyriaStyria (state)
Styria is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. In area it is the second largest of the nine Austrian federated states, covering 16,401 km². It borders Slovenia as well as the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia. ...
Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
and was reduced to 5.7% in Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, it surpassed expectations in the Vienna elections of October 2005. Strache himself was the leading candidate in Vienna, and the party received 14.9% of votes. Strache's campaign, included slogans such as:
- Wien darf nicht Istanbul werden (Vienna must not become IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
). A variation on an FPÖ slogan from the Haider era: Wien darf nicht ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
werden. Vienna has a significant TurkishTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
minority, the FPÖ is opposed to Turkish EU membership and it refers to the defeat of the Ottoman empireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the Battle of ViennaBattle of ViennaThe Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
in 1683, a symbolic historic victory of the West over Islam. - Daham statt Islam ("at home" [i.e., folks who are native to Austria], not IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
) - Deutsch statt "nix verstehen" (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, not "no undastand") - Pummerin statt Muezzin (PummerinPummerinPummerin is the name of the two largest bells in the history of the Stephansdom in Vienna.- Old Pummerin : was originally cast in 1705 from 208 of the 300 cannon captured from the Muslim invaders in the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna....
, not muezzinMuezzinA muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
). Pummerin is the main bell in St. Stephan's Cathedral in Vienna, and so a religious Christian symbol in Vienna. - Heimat im Herzen (homeland at heart)
- Arbeit statt Zuwanderung (jobs, not immigration)
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider
Jörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
said about Strache that if he, Haider, had run such a campaign, the press would have been all over him.
2010 Vienna Elections
In the 2010 Vienna elections for mayor, city council, and district councils, Strache's party received 26% of the vote and increased their number of seats in the city council to 27. His support was strongest among young people under 30.The campaign included slogans such as:
- Zu viel Fremdes tut niemandem gut. (Too many foreigners [or more literally: Too much foreign] does no one good)
- Wir bewahren unsere Heimatstadt. Die SPÖ macht sie uns fremd. (We maintain our homeland. The SPÖ makes it foreign.)
- Wir glauben an unsere Jugend. Die SPÖ an Zuwanderung. (We believe in our youth. The SPÖ in immigration.)
- Wir schützen freie Frauen. Die SPÖ den Kopftuchzwang (We protect women's rights. The SPÖ protects the compulsory veil.)
- Mehr Mut für unser Wiener Blut (More strength for our Viennese blood.)
- Uns, geht's um die Wiener (To us, it's about the Viennese)
Strache was once again accused of xenophobia during his campaign and responded formally in the press to the allegations.
Neo-nazi allegations
Stills taken from a video shot in the late 1980s were published in January 2007 showing a uniformed Strache allegedly participating in paramilitary training activities. Other people on the pictures were claimed to be known neo-Nazis. Strache has denied the allegations, claiming the pictures are of him playing paintball
Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
as an 18-year old. In his initial reaction, then Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer
Alfred Gusenbauer
Alfred Gusenbauer is an Austrian career politician who until 2008 spent his entire professional life as an employee of the Social Democratic Party of Austria or as a parliamentary representative. He headed the SPÖ from 2000 to 2008, and served as Chancellor of Austria from January 2007 to...
referred to the incident as a "folly of youth" (Jugendtorheit).
At the end of January, further pictures were published, allegedly showing Strache performing a Nazi salute
Hitler salute
The Nazi salute, or Hitler salute , was a gesture of greeting in Nazi Germany usually accompanied by saying, Heil Hitler! ["Hail Hitler!"], Heil, mein Führer ["Hail, my leader!"], or Sieg Heil! ["Hail victory!"]...
(the Kühnen
Michael Kühnen
Michael Kühnen was a leader in the German neo-Nazi movement. He was one of the first post-World War II Germans to openly embrace Nazism and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich. He enacted a policy of setting up several differently-named groups in an effort to confuse German authorities, who...
salute). Strache denied the allegations prior to publication of the pictures. After publication, Strache argued that the picture showed him ordering three beers and was not a Nazi salute. Austrian Jewish community leaders criticized the government for its lack of response.