The MFG wants to enter the National Council in the election on September 29th, so like all other parties that are not yet represented in parliament, it is currently busy collecting signatures. The declarations of support must be submitted by August 2nd; 2,600 are needed for a nationwide run. The quota for running in individual federal states is lower: As the party announced, it has already collected the 400 signatures needed for Upper Austria.
State parliament member and MFG federal party chairman Joachim Aigner – he is running in first place on the federal list – is recruiting more supporters to overcome the nationwide hurdle. He is critical of the fact that the declarations of support cannot be submitted digitally.
The central building blocks of the MFG’s election campaign strategy are to be various online channels and small-scale events. “We don’t have the money to afford billboards across the board,” says Aigner, who is convinced that personal contact is the “most effective and honest” anyway.
