The FPÖ is a predominantly male party. As an indication, in the National Council club led by party leader Herbert Kickl, the proportion of women is only 23 percent. For the ÖVP it is 35 percent, for the SPÖ 41 percent, for Neos 44 percent and for the Greens 56 percent, which is much higher.

In the new Styrian state parliamentary club of the FPÖ, the proportion of women is only six percent: of the 17 deputies, 16 are men. What is the reason? The party has, if you like, a deeply masculine tradition. A significant part comes from fraternities. Thematically and in his approaches, he is synonymous with authority and tenacity. While leftists in the field of education, but also in politics, according to American linguist George Lakoff, are more like “foster parents” who discuss and interact with each other, members of the Freedom Party are more like to “strict fathers” who determine what should be and what should be. bangs on the table when there is opposition.

All this explains why the leaders of the Freedom Party are predominantly men. Added to this is a societal image which tends to let women take care of the household and children and to leave politics to men.

For this reason, it was previously thought that the FPÖ was more likely to be elected by men than women. For example, in the 2019 National Council election, according to the ORF/Foresight survey, 21 percent of men but only 11 percent of women voted for the party. This was the norm at the time.

Things have changed since then. In the last five parliamentary elections in Austria, i.e. the National Council and European Union elections as well as the regional elections in Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Styria, Kickl and Co. overall won around two times more among women than among men. In the National Council elections, 28 percent of women and 29 percent of men now voted for the FPÖ, almost the same number.

How is this possible? This is most likely related to the problems of the present. For example, inflation. It affects women as much as men, and in some cases even more. For single mothers, for example, the financial situation has deteriorated significantly. The proportion of those who barely (or barely) make ends meet has increased by half to more than 30 percent, according to the Austrian Statistics Office.

This does not necessarily mean that a greater proportion of women are attracted to the FPÖ. Other things come into play: on the one hand, a crisis of confidence in the ruling parties, i.e. the Turks and the Greens, but also difficulties that the social democrats have with themselves . On the other, a state of mind marked by the fear that everything will deteriorate and that living conditions will deteriorate. Thesis: In this context, Kickl can score points with his narrative that, unlike Nehammer, Babler and anyone else, he devotes himself exclusively to the concerns and needs of the people and that as “people’s chancellor” , he wouldn’t do anything else.

Also among women. Through his ascetic lifestyle, which he expresses by staying away from social events, stage bars and big parties, he suggests that he is not like the politicians generally perceived as such: distant, ignorant of daily worries, etc. Claim: This enhances its appeal. And this, regardless of gender.

Johannes Huber runs the blog dieSubstanz.at – Analysis and background on politics

This article has been machine translated, read the original article here.