BOOKS AND BROCHURES

Manual of Local Politics - Supplementary volume 1

Preparing for a blackout in your community

Das Handbuch der Kommunalpolitik ist ein Leitfaden für die politische Praxis auf kommunaler Ebene. Es soll Menschen, die sich der Kommunalpolitik verschreiben, dabei helfen, ihre ehren- oder hauptamtlichen Aufgaben möglichst erfolgreich zu erfüllen. In praxisorientierten, didaktisch aufbereiteten Einzelbänden widmet es sich den wichtigsten Themen in der Kommunalpolitik.

Im Zusatzband eins des Handbuchs der Kommunalpolitik Blackout-Vorsorge auf kommunaler Ebene erhalten Sie als Gemeindepolitiker konkrete Tipps, wie Sie sich und ihre Gemeinde am besten auf Situationen vorbereiten können, in denen die vertrauten Dinge und Einrichtungen nicht mehr funktionieren - weil zum Beispiel der Strom über einen längeren Zeitraum ausfällt. Auch Kriminalitätsvorbeugung oder der Umgang mit gesundheitlichen Notfällen sind Themen, die mit dem nötigen Wissen besser bewältigt werden können.

Das Handbuch ist von Praktikern für Praktiker geschrieben und zeichnet sich unter anderem durch anwendungsorientierte Checklisten und effektive Tipps aus.

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Manual of Local Politics - Volume 10

Social Media

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.Volume ten of the Handbook for Local Politics deals with the proper use of social media. Here, content is communicated directly and unfiltered, and the focus is on information, interaction and participation. For local politicians, social platforms are suitable for positioning themselves and raising their profile, but also for information and education, networking with like-minded people and addressing new target groups and potential voters. The individual chapters deal with blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tik-Tok, and address the selection of the appropriate channels in each case, the dangers and risks on the web, and the opportunities and possibilities that open up for local politicians in this area.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Manual of Local Politics - Volume 9

Local party newspaper

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.Volume nine of the Handbook for Local Politics deals with the production of a popular local party newspaper that appeals to every age group on the one hand and on the other hand does justice to the trend that "screen workers" like to return to the paper newspaper in private. The likelihood that a party newspaper will be read where almost "everyone knows everyone" is relatively high. People are curious about what politicians they know and the parties do and write, look at photos and are happy to see familiar faces, and discuss well-crafted articles at the regulars' table. That's why this volume deals with content, layout, planning, text creation and image presentation, press law and newspaper financing.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Manual of Local Politics - Volume 8

After the election is before the election

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.Volume eight of the Handbook for Local Politics deals with the phase directly after the election. Depending on the election results, representatives of local politics are faced with the question of how to behave and position themselves. If an election success was achieved, it is important not to be arrogant, to analyze the election results and to present the goals and projects for the new municipal council period, as well as to increase membership recruitment. If the election has ended unpleasantly, it is important to keep one's composure, to analyze the election results in internal circles, and to draw meaningful conclusions and insights from them.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Manual of Local Politics - Volume 7

Electioneering

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.Volume seven of the Handbook for Local Politics deals with the preparation and implementation of an election campaign at the local level. It starts with the timely preparation and planning by the local group officer, from the identification of topics to the preparation of the list of candidates. The activity plan in the election year, including house visits, poster advertising and personalized letters, is covered, as is a professional online presence on the Internet and in social media. Further chapters deal with press relations and the decision-making process for a possible mayoral candidacy.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Manual of Local Politics - Volume 6

Serving as a local councillor

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.

Volume six of the Handbook of Local Politics deals with work in the municipal council and how to position oneself as an opposition party. How to exercise active control, expose mayoral party blunders and point out alternative solutions. Themes include how to prepare for meetings in the best possible way, from inspecting files to voting behavior, and how to make the right motions - including motions to extend, amend or add, when it makes sense to use the urgent motion or even the motion of no confidence, and what a supervisory complaint is. In addition, the work in the committees is dealt with, and here very specifically in the audit committee.

The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Manual of Local Politics - Volume 5

Activity plan for local groups

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.Volume five of the Handbook for Local Politics deals with the tasks and concrete activities of a local group. It guides readers to define annual goals that are as precise, realistic and feasible as possible and to evaluate them at the end of the year. These include regulars' tables, public events, citizens' stands, distribution campaigns and house visits, as well as active participation in public social life. Information about the locality and surrounding area must be actively obtained and passed on to fellow campaigners, direct contact with citizens must be maintained, and structures must be created that are resilient and promising for the party in the election campaign.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

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Manual of Local Politics - Volume 4

Verbal communication and rhetorics

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.Volume four of the Handbook for Local Politics deals with the three effective means of voice, speech and manner of speaking. It is not only personal manner and charisma that can impress, verbal communication is also of decisive importance for a politician. In a radio broadcast, for example, it is the only means of winning over listeners. The volume Verbale Kommunikation und Rhetorik (Verbal Communication and Rhetoric) deals, among other things, with how to train the voice, how to deal with stage fright, how to decide between dialect and standard language, how to choose words and how to use target-group-specific language, how to deal with volume, speech tempo, speech melody and articulation, and how to shape a speech.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Manual of Local Politics - Volume 3

Personal conduct and making a good impression

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.

Volume three of the Handbook for Local Politics focuses on tips for positive civic contacts and professional public appearances. After all, all activists and campaigners are representatives and brand ambassadors of their own party, often the only elected officials and functionaries a citizen ever meets in person. So a local politician is literally the "face" of his or her party. At the same time, it is important to remember that they are often also subject to critical scrutiny and that words and actions can be interpreted adversely. The challenge, then, is to stay politically in line without giving opponents a target through personal misadventures.

The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Manual of Local Politics - Volume 2

Leadership, motivation and team-building

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the major topics of local politics.Volume two of the Handbook for Local Politics addresses the challenges of leading a team of volunteers. It describes in very concrete terms the demands placed on a local group chairman or chairwoman and the potential for conflict that one must face in such a position. It is about conflict management and motivational measures, about meaningful and promising leadership strategies and the characteristics of a successful team. And how to create and promote both well-coordinated teamwork and an intact "we" feeling.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

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Manual of Local Politics - Volume 1

Founding and organising a local group

The Handbook of Local Politics is a guide to political practice at the local level. It is intended to help people who are committed to local politics to fulfill their voluntary or full-time tasks as successfully as possible. In ten concise, practice-oriented, didactically prepared individual volumes, it addresses the most important topics in local politics.In volume one of the handbook of local politics foundation and organization of a local group it goes around the need inquiry, whether the establishment of a local group is meaningful, around methods of the self reflection, in order to recognize its own strengths and to define suitable operational areas for a personal commitment, up to over the candidate search and member production. Topics of the guidance problem, possible stumbling blocks on the way to the successful local group, in addition, motivation Tipps, which promote the cohesion of members and functionaries, are addressed. A comprehensive chapter is devoted to the structuring, organization and distribution of tasks of a local group.The handbook is written by practitioners for practitioners and features, among other things, application-oriented checklists and effective tips.

Report of the Commission of Historians

Analysis and materials concerning the history of the Third Camp and the FPÖ

This book is only available in German. You can browse its content online here.

Election Primer for the National Assembly Election 2019

A guide for members/observers of the district election authorities

This book is only available in German. You can browse its content online here.

Election Primer for the National Assembly Election 2019

A guide for members/observers of the parish and municipal election authorities

This book is only available in German. You can browse its content online here.

Concise Manual for Functionaries

Practical tips and tricks for speaking with the citizenry and conducting home visits

This book is only available in German. You can browse its content online here.

The Austrian Freedom Party and the Austrian Republic

On the 100th anniversary of the Republic

The national-liberal camp stood at the cradle of the Republic of German-Austria in 1918 and, as the strongest faction in the Provisional National Assembly, played a major role in the creation of the state. Franz Dinghofer, one of the three presidents of the Provisional National Assembly, proclaimed the Republic from the ramp in front of Parliament on 12 November 1918.

100 years later, in the Republic’s jubilee year, the national liberals once again find themselves in a crucial role as state supporters and, within the context of a centre-right coalition government, are once again involved in key aspects of the Republic.

This book, published by the Educational Institute of the Freedom Party of Austria, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic in 2018, is intended to provide an overview of the Republic and of the main features of the relationship between the Republic and the national liberals. It highlights the path of the “liberals and their Republic” over the course of the past 100 years from different points of view. 

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN GERMAN LANGUAGE.

Click here for the PDF

Finally Fairness for Us Austrians - The FPÖ in the Federal Government

An interim balance sheet of governance

This book is only available in German. You can browse its content online here.

Together. For Our Austria. Government Agenda 2017-2022

A concise version of the government agenda 2017-2022

This book is only available in German. You can browse its content online here.

“Request granted”

Comments on the 2016 presidential elections

Many will remember the presidential elections in 2016 as the longest election of the Second Republic, people in Austria voted three times altogether.

The book describes how the election was challenged and how the second round of elections was cancelled by the Austrian Constitutional Court. This annulment can rightly be considered a victory of the rule of law and democracy. The Constitutional Court dealt with the Liberals’ complaint quickly, carefully and transparently. The judges fulfilled their obligations when they pointed out major breaches of law and also irregularities that enabled manipulations. The ruling helped safeguard the confidence of Austrian citizens in the rule of law. 

The authors tried to shed light on the background of this historical election through different approaches and points of view. 

Election Vademecum to the Presidential Elections in 2017

for observers of parish or community election authorities

Election Vademecum to the Presidential Elections in 2017

for observers of district election authorities

Taxes and Social Security 2017

A guide

Austria currently suffers from the highest tax burden in the history of the Second Republic. Even internationally, Austrian tax rates have earned us a top place in Europe, and the two ruling parties, the SPÖ and ÖVP, are responsible for this.

These guidelines, drawn up under the leadership of the speaker for finances of the Liberal group in Parliament, Member of the National Council Dr. Hubert Fuchs, will make it easier to navigate in the jungle of legal developments. Of course, it may, and should, not substitute for expert tax advice.

Compact Information

The Freedom Party: History, Programme, Organisation, Contacts

As a citizen interested in politics you cannot help coming across all sorts of questions about the organisation and the programme of the FPÖ. For example:

·         How has FPÖ developed in history?

·         What is the FPÖ’s organisational structure?

·         How is the Party structured at federal and state level?

·         Which bodies in the FPÖ decide on what?

·         What are the key points of the liberal party programme?

·         Where are the contact points at federal and state level?

This brochure strives to give clear and succinct, i.e. compact, answers to these and similar questions. The focus is on being easy to understand with clear graphics. 

The brochure is also available online.

Compulsory military service 2016

Turnaround in the army or one-off effect?

The third book in this series has now been published, which is intended to strengthen the conscription and defensive readiness of our republic. The first two volumes “Compulsory military service - Input for current debate” and “Compulsory military service 2014 - One year after the referendum” are already out of print.

Elected Representatives

The FPÖ and the Parliament

After the 2006 elections to the National Council, the Freedom Party returned to parliament with 21 seats under their party chairman and current parliamentary fraction leader Heinz-Christian Strache. After the implosion of the FPÖ as a result of the events at Knittelfeld and the Haider spin-off of the BZÖ, the FPÖ – considered doomed – recovered impressively in order to continue its many years of work in the Parliament. After the new beginning in 2006, the National Council elections of 2008 and finally those of 2013 came, with the Freedom Party becoming the strongest opposition party in the Republic with a good 20 percent of the votes and a parliamentary fraction of 40 members.

Fraction leader and Federal Party Chairman Heinz-Christian Strache and his two Secretary Generals Herbert Kickl and Harald Vilimsky, supported by Fraction Director Norbert Nemeth, the two Presidents of the National Council Martin Graf and subsequently Norbert Hofer, as well as many influential parliamentary personalities made the FPÖ and the FPÖ Parliamentary Fraction the driving political force of the country during this decade.

In these years, the FPÖ once again distinguished itself as a control party - parliamentary inquiry committees chaired by or at least decisively determined by the FPÖ made this very clear. No other fraction has made so many requests and motions, and, in addition to parliamentary democracy, has argued for more democracy. Ten years later, 38 members of the National Council, 13 members of the Federal Council and four members of the European Parliament make up this FPÖ parliamentary fraction, up from 21 MPs in 2006. They are representatives of the people in the truest sense of the word.

But anyone who wants to judge the work of today's FPÖ parliamentary fraction must also shed light on the parliamentary work of the preceding decades: the era of Jörg Haider, the time of Norbert Steger and the era of Friedrich Peter are of great importance for Austrian parliamentarianism. The parliamentary work of the national-liberal camp in the interwar period is a proud tradition of the party. And the development of the rule of law, the constitutional state and parliamentarianism in the Habsburg monarchy are also merits of this national-liberal movement. And all this began in Frankfurt's St. Paul’s Church, the mother of all German parliaments.

Election Vademecum to the Presidential Elections in 2016

for observers of district election authorities

Election Vademecum to the Presidential Elections in 2016

for observers of district election authorities

Committees of inquiry as a minority right

A documentation of the struggle for this parliamentary control instrument

The agreement reached in the Austrian National Council in 2015 to establish the parliamentary committee of inquiry as a minority right is regarded by many as a "milestone" that underlines the eminent importance of democratic policy.

At first, this law made the Hypo Committee of Inquiry possible. In this respect it seemed logical to record this in a book, which FPÖ parliamentary fraction director Norbert Nemeth and office managers HC Strache and Reinhard Teufel did as a group of authors.

In this work, now published by the FPÖ Education Institute, the authors try to build a bridge, from the beginnings in the Constitutional Convention through the media discussion of opinion-makers and decision-makers of this republic to the programmatic reflection in the position papers of the parliamentary groups represented in the National Council. In addition, the legal situation in the individual federal states is presented and compared.

Renowned constitutional law expert Andreas Hauer emphasises in the preface to the book: "Norbert Nemeth and Reinhard Teufel have extensively and knowledgeably documented the long struggle for the minority right to set up parliamentary committees of inquiry and embedded this in numerous interactions.”

Nemeth and Teufel show that in parliamentary systems of governance, in which the government has a majority in parliament, control rights can only be effectively used if they are also available to a minority - or the majority is prepared to allow control.

They point out that the most important task of Parliament remains legislation. "Nevertheless, it had to be ensured that effective instruments were also made available for parliamentary control over the activities of the government and administration," the authors said. This would ensure the “quality of government processes in the most comprehensive sense”, which the outgoing Federal President Heinz Fischer had once demanded. 

Taxes and Social Security 2016

A guide

The tax reform adopted by the red-black federal government entered into force in January 2017. The joy of many people seeing a higher net amount in their bank statements left from their gross income was soon overshadowed by the realisation that this was merely a tax policy bluff. 

These guidelines, drawn up under the leadership of the speaker for finances of the Liberal group in Parliament, Member of the National Council Dr. Hubert Fuchs, will make it easier to navigate in the jungle of legal developments.

Austria First: 1956 - 2016

60 Years of the FPÖ - the social homeland party

In this publication we look back on the 60-year history of a party and the soon 200-year old history of a political movement. This review of the 60 years of the Freedom Party of Austria begins in the here and now, and goes back in time.

First, we look at the Strache Era, encompassing a good decade from 2005 to 2016. Then there is the time of the government coalition with the People’s Party between 2000 and 2006, which we regard as the second period. Thirdly, we recall the era of the rise of FPÖ under Jörg Haider between 1986 and 2000, which is followed by Chapter 4 on the cooperation in the government under social-democrat Norbert Steger. Then Chapter 5 studies the foundation and inclusion of FPÖ in the political system of the Second Republic between 1956 and 1989. Last but not least we also outline the historical path of the national-liberal camps from their beginning during the Habsburg Monarchy through the tough years of the First Republic right to the foundation of the FPÖ.

FPÖ Women Initiative: End of gendering

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Equal rights for women and men in all areas of life is a matter of course for the FPÖ. However, this equality has nothing to do with the current, left-wing extremist gender ideology, which keeps blossoming absurdly and whose real goal is to see incapacitated, uniform human beings. The gender doctrine pretends to be for diversity, but ultimately leads to simplicity...

School today

Between privilege and dulling of the people

The FPÖ Education Institute devoted itself to the topic of educational misery in the context of a panel discussion with education experts, the FPÖ education spokesman, National Council member Dr. Rosenkranz, the President of the German Teachers' Association, Josef Kraus, former President of the Vienna School Council, Dr. Scholz, and the new FPÖ education spokesman in the Vienna State Parliament and municipal council Maximilian Krauss.

The pros and cons of introducing the comprehensive school and the new secondary school, the dismantling of the secondary school, the PISA tests and school trials as well as educational policy realities in the school sector were discussed in detail.

The central issue was whether we in Austria were not running the risk of a good education becoming wealth-dependent in the future due to a lack of reforms, but also precisely because of some reforms, such as the introduction of comprehensive schools. If this can no longer be guaranteed in the public school system, mainly due to a lowering of educational standards, private schools become an expensive alternative.

Energy and food

Fundamentals of freedom

As a nature conservation and homeland party, the FPÖ considers it its primary task to ensure an intact environment in Austria and independence from unsafe energy imports for our country. The most important foundations of national sovereignty are self-determination and self-sufficiency in the water, food and energy sectors. 

Freedom is our greatest asset. This is the first and most important sentence in the FPÖ party programme. This book makes a small contribution to drawing closer to our freedom in a self-determined homeland. 

Persecution of Christians today

Die größte Gruppe aller aus religiösen Gründen Verfolgten.

“Today, some 100 million Christians worldwide are persecuted for their faith. They are the largest group of all those persecuted for religious reasons.” This is what HC Strache writes in his preface to the brochure "Christenverfolgung heute" (Persecution of Christians Today), published by the FPÖ Education Institute at the turn of 2014. The author Katharina Grieb has focused consistently on the realisation of human rights for decades. Since 1985 she has been President of the Austria Section of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), which was founded in 1983. Until 2013 she was the first Vice-President of the International Council of this organisation. In her brochure entitled "Persecution of Christians Today" she describes the current situation of Christians around the globe and makes people listen with her descriptions of the dangerous situations Christians are exposed to because of their faith. In the end, you have to ask yourself the question: “Why doesn't the world raise its voice against these brutal acts?”

Life after paraplegia

Mentor for the handicapped and people in need of care

In August 2003, Austrian politician Norbert Hofer had a serious accident while paragliding. He survived, but the cold diagnosis was: spinal paralysis - life in a wheelchair.

Hardly anyone who meets him years later knows his tale of suffering or his wheelchair handling skills.

Eleven years after the accident, this book talks about the long way back, great goals, small steps and the search for new happiness. A must read for all people who believe that a stroke of fate only ever hits others, and a book of hope for those who are confronted with an apparently hopeless situation. 

The book also contains a practical guide for those affected and their relatives. How can you plan accessibility, how can you avoid bedsores or to whom can you turn if you need support during nursing care?

Alphabetical EU encyclopaedia

... from A for "agencies" to Z for “Zentralbank” (Central Bank)

The brochure tries to describe the European Union, its institutions as well as European and related Austrian facts and policies in a brief and concise manner, like an encyclopaedia, making them understandable. Of course, this brochure does not claim to be exhaustive. Some representations are deliberately trenchant and will of course meet with protest from some. However, the aim is not to present another "EU Jubilee Brochure", but rather something that is intended to inspire readers to reflect critically.

Thus it is up to the reader to judge whether all the institutions of the European Union in this dimension are really necessary for peace, freedom and democracy, or are not rather counterproductive.