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Mediterranean Quarterly 11.2 (2000) 41-58



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Austria:
Crossroads or Roadblock in a New Europe?

David H. Saltiel


Time has not been kind to Austria. Once the dominant imperial power in Europe, Austria today, it seems, cannot be trusted even to conduct its domestic affairs without the oversight of the outside world. Following the 3 October 1999 parliamentary elections, in which the far-right Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreîchs [FPÖ]), led by the charismatic populist Jörg Haider, scored a stunning 27 percent of the vote, the world shook a disapproving finger at this country of choir boys, Gemütlichkeit, and Hitler. The citizens of the country shrugged their shoulders, decidedly confused about this, and went on muddling through their days.

When the FPO finally joined the center-right Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei [ÖVP]) in February 2000 to form a government, the international shaming took a tangible form. Israel recalled its ambassador, the United States followed suit (although only temporarily), and Austria's fourteen fellow member states of the European Union took steps to downgrade bilateral relations. Jamie Gama, the Portuguese foreign minister, summed up the reaction when he announced that the FPÖ's election platform represented a "systematic attack on the democratic values of Europe."

For many in Europe and elsewhere, Haider's Freedom Party is the most dangerous force in Europe since Hitler. Haider stands accused of advocating a virulent strain of nationalism characterized by sympathy for Nazi policies, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. The fact that his party took almost 27 percent of the vote in the October elections has led some to conclude [End Page 41] that there is strong support within the Austrian population for these ideas.

Not surprisingly, the situation is considerably more complicated than that. Haider seems less committed to any particular principles, right-wing or otherwise, than to an overall goal of becoming Austria's chancellor. Polls indicate that his support comes from an extremely diverse cross section of the Austrian electorate. The same polls also suggest that it is his commitment to radically reforming the way in which Austria is governed, virtually unchanged since 1945, and his anti-internationalist campaign to protect Austrian jobs, not latent Nazism, that are responsible for the bulk of his support. If we examine the context from which the FPÖ emerged, it is not difficult to understand the concerns of Europe. There is, however, little evidence to suggest that Haider can or will undermine the democratic values of Europe, or even those of Austria. While vigilance is understandable, over the long term the real impact of Haider is unlikely to be as obviously evil as the rise of another Hitler.

Haider's success and the subsequent reaction proves that, in the Europe of the twenty-first century, an empire is no longer needed to shape the future of the continent. In addition to having an impact on the deepening of the EU, a political force suspicious of foreigners and hostile to enlargement is a genuine threat to the widening and enlarging of the union. Austria's historical role as a bridge between the East and the West in Europe has allowed the country disproportionate influence over the countries that lie to its south and the east. Should Haider's objections to future EU enlargement or his desire to change union policies on issues such as immigration be actualized, the small Alpine republic could seriously hinder efforts to more closely associate these countries with the EU. Focusing too closely on whether Haider's perceived sympathies for the extreme Right make him the heir to Hitler may cause us to overlook more subtle Europeanwide implications of a strong FPÖ.

Mitteleuropa

Looking at the country today, it is easy to forget what an important player Austria has been historically. For more than one thousand years, Austria has [End Page 42] been centrally involved in the development of Europe. At the center of two empires (the Holy Roman and the Habsburg) and two world wars, Austria seemed always to be in medias res.

Although it is today the subject...

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