Austria braces itself for far-right election gains

Date: 10/10/1996

By Thomas Klau

WITH just days to go before the country's first elections to the European Parliament this weekend, Austria is contemplating the potentially far-reaching consequences of an electoral triumph for the populist Jörg Haider and his far-right party.

A number of high-profile recruits from mainstream parties have swollen the ranks of the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ)and boosted the party's chances of making large gains when Austrians go to the polls on Sunday (13 October).

While opinion polls vary widely, an increasing number of observers credit the FPÖ with a good chance of emerging as the country's second-biggest vote winner with the support of more than a quarter of the population.

This would relegate middle- of-the-road conservatives in the Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) to a disastrous third place, with the social democrats in Chancellor Franz Vranitzky's Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) holding on to their position as the strongest party.

An FPÖ success is seen increasingly as having the potential to seriously undermine the stability of the ÖVP-SPÖ coalition government, as it would strengthen the voice of those conservatives preferring an alliance with the far right to that with the SPÖ.

It would also be vociferously welcomed by far-right politicians throughout the Union, many of whom see Haider as a brilliant example of an ideologue who knows how to attract hundreds of thousands of mainstream voters.

Haider has focused much of his campaign on Austria's contribution to the EU, announcing he would fight for a substantial rebate. This has proved popular as the first 20 months of membership have been marked by disappointment with the benefits of full Union participation.

At the same time, the necessary belt-tightening ahead of monetary union has resulted in painful public spending cuts.

However, Haider has stopped short of calling for an end to Austrian membership.

Meanwhile, the FPÖ's own finances received a significant boost when an ÖVP member of parliament recently defected to the Haider party, giving it the one extra seat it needed to qualify for full public funding.

The attempt to broaden the party's appeal has not stopped at the ÖVP. Many Austrians were surprised when Haider recruited a leading member of Austria's Jewish community, journalist Peter Sichrovsky, to fill the second slot in the party's electoral list.

While the FPÖ has scored a number of resounding successes, the tiny Liberale Forum has suffered a spectacular scandal.

Its leading candidate in Viennese local elections being held on the same day as the Euro-poll had to step down when confronted with allegedly racist statements he had made at an FPÖ meeting a few years ago.