Otto Strasser
At the beginning of its existence, the EDU's platform was strongly influenced by the ideology of Otto Strasser, revolutionary nationalism, and solidarism. Despite being nationalistic and patriotic, the party supported socialist economic policies as opposed to capitalism or communism. In the early 1980s, the EDU underwent an ideological shift, with fundamentalist Christianity and the Bible becoming the most important parts of its ideology. It promoted socially conservative policies. At the same time, the EDU adopted right-wing populist positions on issues such as immigration, integration into supranational unions, and Islam. It adopted strongly pro-Israel views.