Jorg Haider, a 49 year-old
lawyer by practice, formerly led the Austrian
Freedom Party, a
right-wing party (considered radical extremist, but it is
socialist Europe that's talking).
Austria's last
elections showed an unexpectedly strong
support for the "
yuppie nazi", as his
enemies like to call him, and eventual
ruckus caused by the
European Union (
EU) led the party chairman to
resign in disgust. In any case, here is the story.
Austria had been long ruled by the socialist majority, the omnipresent Social Democrats. It's true. Go to Europe and half the left wing liberal parties there are named either Liberal Democrats or Social Democrats. In any case, in the early 1990's a lot of people in Austria got sick of the welfare state and started voting for him. Despite his anti-Semetic and anti-immigration views, he gained strong support from all over Austria. Don't call me a hypocrite. Hey, even I don't like him, but I'm was even more disgusted by what happened next.
He was elected governor of his home province of Carinthia for a second time in March 7, 1999. Some people are already mighty pissed off about what he has said, but it is democracy, and they elected him, after all. Silent majority, anyone? In the October 3, 1999 general elections, Haider and the FPO enjoyed an extremely strong showing. While final results await a count of the absentee ballots, the unofficial tally has the FPO emerging in a second-place tie with the ruling coalition People’s Party (considered right wing in Austria, but would be considered moderate in the US), having obtained at least 27% of the popular vote. The Freedom Party will gain 12 parlimentary seats, for a total of 53. The ruling Social Democrats, while maintaining their first-place position, were left with the smallest lead since World War II.
On February 4, 2000, a new Austrian government is sworn in with ministers from Haider's party. Israel recalls its ambassador (and he will probably not be missed), Europe (actually, the EU) reacts with outrage. The EU proceeded to slap sanctions on Austria, and protests in the streets of Vienna drove Haider to resign from his post. But it succeeded to discredit him. Helped along by the liberal media, people continued to harass him and his party until he quit. So much for progressive politics, which was what the protestors were claiming to be doing.
The protestors ignored the fact that he wasn't even chancellor yet, and his party still did not hold a majority. What really is disturbing, from what I see here, is definitely not Haider's rise to power (which is what the liberals are saying). It is more the death of democracy. How people can go against a democratic vote because it displeased them, and proceed to sling mud, slander and riot until their wishes are met, and the subtle approval from the socialist EU. According to a poll, 85% of Austrians is telling the EU to fuck off (literally), for messing with their affairs. Here are a few guesses at what Haider might do, according to his opponents, if he becomes chancellor (he's not, and yet you people still complained):
- Install his "Nazi" policies into law. Highly unlikely, considering the liberal Social Democrats still hold a majority in parliament.
- Dissolve parliament, Hitler style. Somehow, I just don't think that's going to happen.
- Order a second Kristallnacht. Uh, I don't think so........
- The Second Holocaust. Some people have actually accused him of planning this. Oh well. Political radicalism makes some people lose their heads sometimes.
While the EU blatantly infringes on Austria's sovereignity and gets away with it, the vote of the silent majority of Austria has been overriden by an obnoxiously loud bitching minority, who would willingly ignore democracy for their own political interests. It isn't important people voted for him, we don't like him! Then again, what place does democracy have in a socialist continent? Not too much. Long live socialism! To hell with national sovereignity!
Then again, what the hell do I know? I'm not Austrian, and the closest I got to Vienna was a 2-hour stay at the airport on the way to London. This came out of 1 hour of research and reading newspapers over the past 3 months. Any Austrians out there feel like telling me why Haider should get kicked out even though he got voted in, feel free to post it here.