AUSTRIA: JOERG HAIDER RESIGNATION: FILE FOOTAGE

Описание: (29 Feb 2000) Eng/Ger/Nat

The Portuguese presidency of the European Union has said there will be no rush to re-establish normal relations with Austria following the resignation of far right leader Joerg Haider on Tuesday.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the E-U, said it wasn't Haider's personality, but the nature of his party that was the problem.

Haider, who is known for his anti-foreigner statements and past praise of Nazi employment policies, resigned on Monday as head of the far-right Freedom Party.

But Haider, who doesn't hold a post in the national government, will continue as governor of Carinthia province.

Right-wing populist leader Joerg Haider danced with his wife at a lavish ball earlier this month to celebrate his party's success in forming a coalition government in Austria.

The ball, an annual event held for Austria's district governor, bore testimony to a public display of optimism about Haider's party against the backdrop of fierce international criticism.

At the time, there was no evidence of members of the right-wing party showing any strain over growing speculation of international isolation.

But now the controversial honeymoon is over.

On Monday, Haider resigned as head of the Freedom Party in an apparent bid to reduce Austria's international ostracism.

Although Haider doesn't hold a post in the national government, his controversial image and his iron-hand control of the Freedom Party made him the most visible member of the Austrian political establishment.

His party's participation in government unleashed a storm of national and international condemnation and protests.

Austria became a nation no longer at ease with itself and the memory of its Nazi past.

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Vienna and other cities to register their anger at the inclusion of the far-right Freedom Party in the country's new coalition government.

The Freedom Party's leader had courted controversy by comments he made praising Hitler's employment policies.

He apologized for the statements, but the anger they caused remained.

In this protest after the Freedom Party's leader's swearing ceremony in early February, riot police had to resort to the use of water cannon to disperse the crowd of defiant demonstrators.

Hours after swearing-in the new government, Austrian President Thomas Klestil appealed to Austrians and the world to give the new government a chance to fulfill its promises to govern under European standards of democracy and human rights.

But the sense of unease grew.

Seeking to calm foreign concern about his personality and his party, Haider summoned foreign journalists to Klagenfurt on February 7, the capital of the province of Carinthia which he governs.

His aim was to show them that Austrians, and especially members of the Freedom Party, were what he called "good people."

He reiterated past comments made by new chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel that while he may be a populist, he's no Hitler.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It is stupid to imagine that the whole world is afraid of Mr Haider. He is the leader of a 27 percent party in Austria. It's unbelievable that the whole world is afraid, Mr Clinton is afraid of Mr Haider?"
SUPER CAPTION: Joerg Haider, Former leader of Freedom Party

During the news conference, Haider said he believed many of the demonstrators had come to Austria from other countries just to protest.

Among them, he said, were professional rioters who were trying to destabilise Austria's political system.

SOUNDBITE: (German)





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