It was only a month ago that Andrea-Michaela Schartel, 60, entered the Austrian National Council. She has been a member of the FPÖ since the 1970s, state chairwoman of the Freedom Women’s Initiative (IFF) in Styria and is now a member of parliament again Wienfor the second time in her political career.

Schartel has come a long way. Today the election campaign is taking place at home, in the 13,000-inhabitant town of Feldbach, just under an hour’s drive southeast of Graz. Schartel is standing behind a steaming pot of mulled wine, an A4 piece of paper is stuck to the edge of the table: “Strong women for Mario Kunasek.” While she is talking to ZEIT and puffing on her cigarette, a man passes by and without asking, pushes his used paper cups into her hand. Has she already been asked about the commitment of the FPÖ women? “No,” she says in a broad Styrian tongue. “Today it’s about our top candidate.”