Freedom Party in Carinthia

The Freedom Party in Carinthia (, FPK, alternative English translations: Carinthian Freedom Party, Freedom Party of Carinthia, The Freedomites in Carinthia, or Carinthia Freedom Party) was a political party in Austria, operating in the federal state of Carinthia. The FPK was founded as branch of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) by Jörg Haider in 1986. It emerged as an independent party in December 2009 from the Carinthian branch of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), also founded by Jörg Haider in 2005 following a split in the FPÖ. Before that In the 2009 Carinthian state election the BZÖ won 44.9% of the vote, while what remained of the FPÖ got just 3.8%. Subsequently, Gerhard Dörfler, Haider's successor, was returned as state governor. The FPK, which cooperated with the FPÖ on the national level since 2010, was finally merged into the FPÖ, becoming its state section in Carinthia. History Background The party's origins lie with the Carinthia branch of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). Jörg Haider, chairman of that branch since 1983, was elected federal FPÖ chairman in 1986. Under a previously introduced restructuring plan, Haider transformed the Carinthian branch into The Freedom Party in Carinthia under the federal umbrella of the FPÖ. Haider made his home state of Carinthia a stronghold of the party and twice served as state governor (1989–1991 and 1999–2008).