Since 1951, the Austrian federal president is the only political representative directly elected by the people. This article analyzes the Austrian federal presidential election of 2022 as a case study in order to examine the political significance of this state office. First, the path dependency of the office in the First (1919-1934) and Second Republic (since 1945) is presented (section II). Next, the constitutional power resources of the federal president are examined (section III), and the relationship between the federal presidency and the other elements of the political system is further discussed (section IV). In section V, the federal election campaign of 2022 is analyzed with a focus on sociological concepts deriving from Pierre Bourdieu. It scrutinizes how the six candidates who challenged the incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen apply different forms of ‘political capital’ such as habitus, lifestyle, media access, and strategic choice of discourse. The conclusion of the paper points to the confirmation of path dependency with regard to the federal presidency, i.e. the role renunciation of the incumbent Van der Bellen was confirmed, while demands for role expansion were defeated in the 2022 campaign.