Austria and EU: Sanctions against Haider
In the general elections of 3rd October 1999 Wolfgang Schüssel's Popular Austrian Party ÖVP had turned out only third, behind the Social Democrats of chancellor Viktor Klima (SPÖ) and the National-Liberals of Jörg Haider's FPÖ. To the great disappointment of the ambitious Christian Democrat leader this result seemed to preclude any possibility to achieve the post of chancellor. It was only by playing an intriguing part during the coalition talks that Mr. Schüssel turned his party's disappointing result into a personal success. During the election campaign Mr. Schüssel had ruled out a mere continuation of the former Grand coalition with the Social Democrats. He didn´t want to serve anymore as a junior partner. His alternative was a coalition with the Freedom Party, but his hopes to get them as a junior partner were crushed when his own party turned out only third behind the FPÖ.
Thus, willing or not, the Christian Democrat leader was forced into negotiations with the Social Democrats. The outgoing chancellor Viktor Klima (SPÖ) tried for three months to convince his hitherto foreign minister Schüssel to renew the former coalition. In January things seemed finally ready, when the partners started to talk about the distribution of ministries. Compelled by the Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats had already renounced many requests of their platform, but when Schüssel wanted to discuss even their ministers, trying to exclude some of the most popular, Klima's party dedided to interrupt the talks. After 13 years the Grand coalition in Austria was definitely broken. Viktor Klima renounced any further attempt to form a government and a few days later he stepped down even as leader of his party.
With Klima stepping out of scene the two other leaders lost no more time. While Austria's Federal president Thomas Klestil, a Christian Democrat too, showed himself concerned, having received the warnings of his European counterparts, Schüssel and Haider decided on negotiations. With Haider's lot all too keen to enter the coalition, the negotiations turned out surprisingly uncomplicated and the new government was formed in less than two weeks. For the prize of leading his "National-Liberals" out of their isolation in national politics, Haider himself renounced entering the cabinet, thus permitting Schüssel to crown his ambition to become chancellor.
The Haiderites accepted even several government projects invented by Schüssel in order to soften the international community's reaction, such as a compensation for Jewish victims of Holocaust. Moreover, on request of president Klestil the partners signed a quite unusual declaration in which they promised to respect the principles of human rights, pluralistic democracy and the rule of law. The Freedom Party took six departments, among them Finance and Defense. The economic program aims at a faster deregulation and privatization of state held companies. In foreign politics the new coalition could eventually review Austria's "perpetual neutrality" by seeking to join NATO.
The price for the new coalition in Vienna was however Austria's international isolation. Since last year's elections the European partners had already warned Austria not to let the xenophobic "Liberals" get into government. At the beginning of February the Austrian case was discussed everywhere in Europe. Israel even recalled its ambassador. The shock of Europe's first government led by an openly xenophobic party was pretty strong, especially since one of the most important principles of EU treaties is complete freedom of movement for citizens. Since WW II there have been other governments including parties from the far-right, but never in a leading role. The fear was now that Mr. Haider, though remaining as governor in his region Carinthia would pull the strings from behind.
As a first reaction to the new coalition, the European leaders decided to downgrade their relations with Austria. From the moment the new Austrian government took office on 4th February, the other 14 nations suspended all bilateral contacts with Vienna. The partners ruled limitations for Austrian ambassadors and decided that they would deny their support to any Austrian candidacy in international organizations. Though the decision was pronounced by Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres who holds presently the rotating presidency, the measures are purely bilateral.
The European Commission was completely bypassed by this decision and Commission president Romano Prodi said that the European institutions would continue as usual in full respect of the treaties. Thus Austrian ministers are still invited to all EU meetings, although some of them are humiliated and treated like pariahs, since many ministers have repeatedly refused to shake hands and talk with their Austrian counterparts of the Freedom Party. A political censure arrived even from the European Parliament which condemned with a large majority "all offensive, xenophobic and racist statements made by Mr. Haider".
The European institutions are in a quite odd situation. In fact the European treaties do not contain any legal source for sanctions against an "undesired" member government. Thus the Austrian case has "marked a departure for the EU into the treacherous realm of morality" (The Economist). This is the first time that EU countries have tried to interfere in the domestic politics of a fellow member and the consequences are not quite clear.
The risks of such pressure is to isolate Austria and the Austrian people as a whole, thus making an even more popular hero of the outlaw Haider. Though there have been large protest marches against the FPÖ with over 100.000 participants in Vienna, opinion polls show that Haider's popularity has even risen.
In a first moment Haider has certainly not helped distension, putting even more oil on the fire. Many still remember his praise of Hitler's employment policies, which cost him his post as governor of Carinthia in 1993. This time he decided to offend his critics in the partner nations. He has accused the French president Jacques Chirac of "megalomania", called the former British prime minister Winston Churchill a "war criminal" and invited the Belgians to think of their pedophilia scandals before criticizing Austria. Haider's system is a quite simple sort of naive provocations with following denials, in order to become the victim of "unjustified" attacks. Since he is a really sympathetic guy, at the age of 50 still dynamic and good-looking, the Austrian people seem ready to excuse almost anything. In fact, last spring they elected him again governor of Carinthia. If there were elections today his party would probably come out first.
"Some of the reasons for Mr. Haider's rise are unpleasant, others perfectly respectable", writes the Economist. "The lingering whiff of nastiness mainly concern his hostility to foreigners and immigrants who are numerous in Austria, a chief recipient of Balkan refugees, among others. The more respectable reasons include his party's opposition to the time-dishounored system of Proporz, whereby the two hitherto main parties carved up just about all public-sector jobs, from ambassadors to health inspectors, between them".
When Haider took the leadership in 1986, the FPÖ had fallen to about 1% of consensus. But since he started his crusade against the spoil system, consensus has been growing all the time. Even in this difficult moment Haider has invented new moves in order to evidence his distance from the system. At the end of February he has asked his own party's ministers to renounce part of their allowances. When they refused to obey his order he stepped down as party chairman, thus becoming at the same time victim of the international furor and of the degeneration of Austrian party politics.
Haider designed the 39-year-old vice-chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer as new chairman of the Freedom Party. He said that he didn´t want "to stand in the way of the work of the new government" and that he therefore would concentrate on his work as governor of Carinthia. However commentators considered his step just another able move to increase his popularity and prepare for getting on the chancellor's seat. All agree that Haider has certainly not given up his political ambitions.
Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel expressed his confidence that the change in the leadership of his coalition partner would contribute to distension with the international community. Unfortunately, however, Haider's resignation was not enough for the European leaders who were not willing to ease the sanctions. Mr. Guterres said that the problem was not the person of Haider, but the nature of his party. Mr. Prodi repeated that the EU institutions would continue to watch over the respect of treaties and judge the new Austrian government by its action. The case is not closed and Vienna remains under special surveillance.
Austria's situation seems now even more difficult than in the late 80s, when the presidency of Kurt Waldheim, suspected of Nazi-crimes, provoked international isolation. The citizens in the cosy Alps-Republic are therefore already used to close behind their leaders and stand alone against the rest of the world. President Klestil and new chancellor Schüssel have tried their best to defend the dignity and honor of the democratic Austrian people and comfort the partners about Austria's future course. But unfortunately they don´t seem the right persons to prevent Jörg Haider from continuing his advance aiming at the chancellor's office. For the European Union and for Austria this would be a worst case scenario.
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