Background
He assumed his mother"s maiden name Westenthaler instead of his former surname Hojač (Czechoslovakian).
He assumed his mother"s maiden name Westenthaler instead of his former surname Hojač (Czechoslovakian).
As leader of the BZÖ, Westenthaler was engaged in a heated dispute with Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Freedom Party of Austria) chairman Heinz-Christian Strache over which of the two political parties is the legal successor to the former Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Freedom Party of Austria) (the party before the split of 2005 which was a candidate at the Austrian legislative election, 2002).
A member of Jörg Haider"s Freedom Party of Austria (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Freedom Party of Austria)) up to the so-called "Knittelfeld Putsch" of 2002, he then worked for Frank Stronach"s Magna Steyr, and in June 2006 was elected chairman of the newly founded Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ).