By then his party already held 40 out of 183 national council seats.
Unemployment also remains low.
Haider now dominates the largest far-right party in Europe. In the wake of the election, Chancellor Viktor Klima promised to keep the Freedom Party out of the government, immediately ruling out the prospect of a coalition with Haider s party. Klima vowed to retain the coalition with the conservative OVP, which has prevailed for the last 13 years. Haider does not hide his ambition to one day become chancellor. Analysts speculate that the Freedom Party s strong electoral finish was due in part to public displeasure with coalition politics, high taxes, and an austerity budget.