the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolution

In the Austrian political landscape, the FPÖ was from its foundation a third party with only modest support until it entered into government together with the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) in the mid-1980s.

When Jörg Haider was chosen as new FPÖ party leader in 1986, the party started a political and ideological journey which was described by observers as representing a turn towards right-wing populism

increasing internal disagreements in the FPÖ led Haider and many leading party members (including the FPÖ part of the government) to defect from the party in 2005. They formed a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ)

Under the leadership of Heinz-Christian Strache, the FPÖ has focused on describing itself as a Heimat and social party. This means that the party promotes its role as a guarantor of Austrian identity and social welfare. Economically, it supports regulated liberalism with privatisation and low taxes, combined with support for the welfare state; however, it maintains that it will be impossible to uphold the welfare state if current immigration policies are continued