The election for the National Council of 24 November 2002 took place prematurely, only three years after the last elections. Since early 2000, Austria had been ruled by a coalition under Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel of the consevative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which had then only been in third place, closely trailing the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), with which it entered into a coalition. During the summer of 2002, controversy within the FPÖ increased, which centered around plans for a tax reform that had been postponed because of the floods in August. This culimated in the Knittelfeld putsch, initiated by Jörg Haider, governor of Carinthia, and members of the nationalist wing of the party. This induced Vice Chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer, finance minister Karlheinz Grasser and other more pragmatic FPÖ members in important positions to resign. Chancellor Schüssel then announced new elections. The ethnically and culturally homogenous nation state of Austria is the small but prosperous remnant of Austria-Hungary, a vast multinational empire foundered in 1918. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power, usually by participating in elections. ... Politics of Austria Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Austria ... The Leopoldine Wing of Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna: home to the offices of the Federal President. ... Presidential elections were held in Austria on 25 April 2004. ... The National Council or Nationalrat is one of the two houses of the Federal Assembly, the bicameral federal parliament of the Federal Republic of Austria. ... In Austria, the legislative election of October 3, 1999 (elections for the National Council of Austria) caused a major upheaval in the political landscape. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council talking place in fall of 1995 were the first to follow Austrias accession to the EU and followed only a year after the 1994 elections. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council talking place in fall of 1994 were the first to follow Austrias agreement to join the EU and the EU referendum taking place in late spring of 1994. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council talking place in 1990 mostly resulted in losses to the ÖVP, then the junior partner in a coalition with the SPÖ, and gains to the FPÖ. Categories: Elections in Austria ... The elections to the Austrian National Council talking place in fall of 1986 followed shortly after Jörg Haider had ousted Norbert Steger as the leader of the FPÖ at the party convention in Innsbruck. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council talking place in 1983 were the last campaign where the SPÖ was led by Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, who had been the head of government since 1970. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1979 resulted in small gains to the SPÖ led by Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, which had an absolute majority at that time. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1975 resulted in no changes to the composition of the parliament. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1971, held only one year after the 1970 elections, were the first after a reform of election law that increased the number of seats in parliament from 165 to 183. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1970 were the first where a plurality was won by the SPÖ, now led by Bruno Kreisky. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1966 resulted in a victory for the ÖVP headed by Josef Klaus. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1962 resulted in a continuation of the coalition between the ÖVP headed by Alfons Gorbach and the SPÖ headed by Bruno Pittermann. ... In the elections to the Austrian National Council of 1959, the SPÖ leaped ahead of the ÖVP in votes, but trailed behind it by one seat. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1956 were the first elections after the conclusion of the Austrian State Treaty. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1953 were the first elections after the KPÖ had left the coalition with the ÖVP and SPÖ in 1950. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1949 were the first elections after World War II when former Nazis were allowed to vote. ... The elections to the Austrian National Council held in fall of 1945 were the first after World War II. Surprisingly, the KPÖ only gained four seats, even though it was strongly supported by the Soviet Union, which had its troups in the east of the country. ... The National Council or Nationalrat is one of the two houses of the Federal Assembly, the bicameral federal parliament of the Federal Republic of Austria. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Federal Chancellor of Austria (Bundeskanzler) is the head of government in Austria. ... Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (born June 7, 1945) is a Christian Democratic Austrian politician. ... The Austrian Peoples Party or Österreichische Volkspartei is an Austrian political party. ... The Austrian Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, abbreviated to FPÖ) is an Austrian political party usually associated with the name of Jörg Haider. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In August of 2002 a 100-year flood caused by over a week of continuous heavy rains ravaged Europe, killing dozens, dispossessing thousands, and causing damages of billions of dollars in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia. ... Jörg Haider in Carinthia (promotional photo) Jörg Haider (born January 26, 1950) is an Austrian politician. ... Carinthia (German Kärnten, Slovenian Koroška) is a federal state or Bundesland, located in the south of Austria. ... In Austrian politics, the Vice Chancellor (Vizekanzler) is a member of the federal government acting as a deputy to the Federal Chancellor. ... Susanne Riess-Passer (born January 3, 1961 in Braunau am Inn) is a former Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). In the first government headed by Chencellor Wolfgang Schüssel, which was inaugurated in 2000, she became Vice Chancellor and minister of public services and sports, representing...

Surprisingly to virtually all observers, Schüssel's ÖVP jumped from third to first place in the electorate, gaining the largest number of seats in the National Council for the first time since 1966, ahead of the opposition social democrats. The FPÖ lost almost two thirds of its voters. The elections to the Austrian National Council of 1966 resulted in a victory for the ÖVP headed by Josef Klaus. ...

After negotiations with the other parties, Schüssel renewed the coalition with the severely weakened FPÖ. He is now often credited for having "taken away the magic" from Jörg Haider by allowing his party to participate in the federal government.