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
2008 Austrian legislative election would be unlikely to survive without Haider and that the ÖVP could possibly gain back voters from the BZÖ if they played their cards right and forged a right-wing coalition; in the case of a renewed grand coalition, Höbelt expected most BZÖ voters to go to the FPÖ. Following a series of highly emotional and unprofessional interviews by Petzner (some of which were seen as alluding to a personal relationship between Haider and Petzner beyond mere friendship), there were rumours that he would not become leader of the parliamentary BZÖ group on 22 October 2008 and that Haider's sister and