2008 Austrian legislative election putting more emphasis on economic liberalism as well as social liberalism. BZÖ leader and Carinthian governor Jörg Haider died in a car accident in Köttmannsdorf near Klagenfurt in the state of Carinthia in the early hours of 11 October 2008. Police reported that the Volkswagen Phaeton that Haider had been driving came off the road, rolled down an embankment and overturned, causing him "severe head and chest injuries". Haider, who was on his way to a family gathering in honour of his mother's 90th birthday, was alone in the government car and no other vehicles were involved. An initial investigation
Parliamentary parties involved in the 2008 Austrian legislative election the following day. The Austrian People's Party went into the election with vice chancellor Wilhelm Molterer as its leader. The ÖVP stated it would try to form a three-party coalition before attempting another grand coalition, though some internal voices have dissented from that; the ÖVP did also not explicitly rule out a coalition with FPÖ or BZÖ, but stated that its coalition partners would have to be clearly supportive of the EU, thus strongly indicating a preference for a coalition with the Greens. Former ÖVP leader and former chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stated on 1 August 2008 that he was against