The Freedom Party Austria (FPÖ) as the Party of the “Little Man”: The Economic Ideas of the FPÖ as a Topic in Socio-economic and Political Education

Dealing with right-wing populism and right-wing extremism is a determining topic of political education at many school locations. Mostly, the anti-human and anti-democratic statements of these parties are the focus of attention. This article deals with the economic positioning of the FPÖ. This party likes to market itself in political discourse as the “party of the little man”, which stands up for the interests of the “low-income earners” and the “marginalised”. The analysis of the voter potential, however, shows that the FPÖ is elected by a majority of well-paid skilled workers and the so-called middle class. The economic orientation of the FPÖ can be described as neoliberal, but it does not even represent these groups of voters, but rather the best earners in a society. Finally, a learning process is described how teachers in schools could address this issue in order to take a socio-economic and a political perspective.