Austria’s government. A mischief-maker tries to come back

Date: 21/06/03

Can Jörg Haider return to national politics without the government's fall?

IN ONE of the troughs into which his career has periodically fallen, Austria's far-right populist, Jörg Haider, once crisply announced his definitive retirement from politics with the words: “I'm gone already”. As usual Mr Haider was back in the limelight within weeks. Now, once again, after stirring things up in Austria on and off for two decades, he seems poised for a comeback.

For a start, he looks keen to get back his old job as formal leader of the Freedom Party, which he relinquished in February 2000 thanks to the international outcry over his party's inclusion in a ruling coalition. This would make life very tricky for the chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel. It could even destroy the present coalition government, as the chancellor's conservative Austrian People's Party relies on the Freedomites as its junior partner.

In fact, Mr Haider never left politics for good. He stayed on as governor of the southern province of Carinthia, from where he went on meddling in national and party politics. Last summer, he managed to topple his pragmatic successor, Susanne Riess-Passer, who, as vice-chancellor, had co-operated well with Mr Schussel. But the resulting turmoil in the Freedom Party hurt it badly in last autumn's general election, when it plummeted to 10% in the poll from 27% in 1999. Mr Haider withdrew again to his alpine retreat.

What's his latest gambit?

This time, the party leader Mr Haider wants to replace is his old friend Herbert Haupt, a veterinarian who used to do his bidding. Mr Haider thinks Mr Haupt gave way too easily to Mr Schussel in recent wrangling over the reform of Austria's expensive pay-as-you-go pension system which was finally shoved through parliament on June 11th. Each time Mr Haupt, who is social-affairs minister as well as vice-chancellor, accepted the latest draft, the populist Mr Haider, speaking on behalf of the “little man”, demanded further changes that threatened to bring the government down.

As a result, Mr Haider and his allies in the Freedom Party's group in parliament had the reform watered down. Future retirees have been spared losses of up to 40% of what their pensions would previously have been worth, as the first drafts had proposed; the maximum loss was capped at 10%, at least for those now aged over 35. The government also had to promise to abolish the separate, more generous, pension system for public employees, many of whom habitually vote for Mr Schussel's party but are now particularly cross.

Mr Schussel's party is not at all keen on Mr Haider's return as the Freedom Party's leader - and is dead against having him in the government itself. Mr Schussel says he can work with Mr Haupt and his awkward colleagues but not with the troublesome Mr Haider. If he does return to power of a kind at the national level, the European Union's 14 other governments are unlikely to isolate Austria diplomatically, as they did - to little avail - before, but many Austrians fear it would cost their country a lot of prestige and influence.

Most people at the top of the Freedom Party still want Mr Haupt to stay in charge. They fear that if the impetuous Mr Haider comes back the coalition will collapse and they will lose their jobs and perks. Even Mr Haider's sister, Ursula Haubner, who is doing quite well as a junior minister for social affairs, wants him to stay away. At 53, Mr Haider may have stopped dreaming of becoming chancellor; he is no longer the party's undisputed vote-catcher. But he is still unbeatable at making mischief.

Can Jörg Haider return to national politics without bringing the Austrian government down.