Lessons to Be Learnt - English language

8/9/2019 Lessons to Be Learnt - English language

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Dominique Hoffman Werner Schneyder's Fullfilling my duty /Lessons to be learnt from the 1999 Austrian Elections


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Fulfilling my duty:

lessons to be learnt

a two-part essay

1) "Joerg Haider Fullfiling myduty" original text by WernerSchneyder. (Vienna 2002)

2) Lessons to be learnt from

Austrian politics for all of usvoters.

The rise of the far-right, populistpoliticians, spin and pragmatism,loss of party identity, distortedperceptions, third way,irresponsible banks, human rights,hype and media, celebrity culture,failure and successes andinternational scrutiny. Austria maybe a small country in the middle of

Europe but in a way it has been amicrocosm of what is currentlyhappening in the world of politics.Or to paraphrase Austrian authorhumorist Peter Orthofer: Theyhaven't been spared anything.

How relevant is what has happenedin Austrian politics, relevant to usespecially those who don't evenvote in our own election?Especially, the abstentionistsshould especially prick up their

ears: there are lessons to be learntin part 2.

Since modern Austrian politics keepon being associated with therecently deceased Mr Joerg Haider,

it is only fair for me to translate anessay about him by the competentand acclaimed writer WernerSchneyder. It was an honour totranslate a piece of work by him.



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Jrg Haider Death of a celebritypolitician translation of an essay by Werner Schneyder , after this introduction by Wikipedia.

Jrg Haider (January 26, 1950 October 11, 2008)[1] was anAustrian politician. He wasGovernor of Carinthia andChairman of the "Alliance for theFuture of Austria" (BndnisZukunft sterreich, BZ).

Born in Upper Austrian town ofBad Goisern in 1950 , Haider wasreportedly always top of hisclass in high school. During his

time in Bad Ischl he had firstcontacts with nationalistorganizations, such as theBurschenschaft Albia, a right-wing student group.

After he graduated with highestdistinction in 1968, he moved toVienna to study law. During hisstudies he was affiliated againwith a Burschenschaft such asSilvania. After graduating from

the University of Vienna with thetitle of Dr. iur. in 1973 he wasdrafted into the Austrian Armywhere he voluntarily spent morethan the mandatory nine months(called 'the voluntary one year').

In 1974 he started to work at theUniversity of Vienna law facultyin the department of constitutional law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J?rg_Haider#cite_note-ORFobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landeshauptmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carinthia_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_the_Future_of_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_the_Future_of_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Goisernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Ischlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burschenschafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burschenschafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Viennahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_degreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Viennahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landeshauptmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carinthia_(state)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_the_Future_of_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_the_Future_of_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Goisernhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Ischlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burschenschafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burschenschafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Viennahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_degreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Viennahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J?rg_Haider#cite_note-ORFobit-0


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Haider became wealthy when heinherited the estate of his uncleWilhelm Webhofer in 1983, whohad owned a large parcel of landin Carinthia commonly known as'Brental' (bear valley). This

estate has a history that came upin the 1990s in the Austrianmedia. The land had beenowned by an Italian Jew until1941. At that point in time theNazis still hesitated to take

possession of "Jewish property"owned by non-German nationalswithout any compensation. Thuswhen the estate was "sold" in1941, Haider's great-uncle JosefWebhofer (a resident ofBolzano-

Bozen, Italy) paid 300,000Reichsmark (about 1.5 milliondollars today) to obtain title tothe land. After the war MathildeRuifer, the widow of the former

Jewish owner of Brentaldemanded compensation andwas paid an additional 850,000schilling (around 400,000 dollarstoday.

Haider was a long-time leader ofthe Austrian Freedom Party (FP).Although he stepped down asthe FP's chairman in 2000, heremained its major figure untilhe founded the BZ in April

2005. He was subsequentlyexpelled from the FP by itsinterim leader Hilmar Kabas. Heis controversial within Austriaand abroad.

Haider was killed in a car crashat Lambichl in Kttmannsdorfnear Klagenfurt, in the state ofCarinthia, in the early hours ofOctober 11, 2008. , shortly after

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_in_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_in_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Bolzano-Bozenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Bolzano-Bozenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reichsmarkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Freedom_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilmar_Kabashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lambichl&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K?ttmannsdorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klagenfurthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_in_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_in_Austriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Bolzano-Bozenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Bolzano-Bozenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reichsmarkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Freedom_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilmar_Kabashttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lambichl&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K?ttmannsdorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klagenfurt


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leading the BZ in the AustrianParliamentary elections.

----- Author : Werner Schneyder

Opinions of a soloist (Ansichten eines Soloisten)

title: Jrg Haider Fulfillingmy duty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_legislative_election,_2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_legislative_election,_2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_legislative_election,_2008http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_legislative_election,_2008


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I don't want to utter that nameagain, nor write it again. Dealingwith this character is revolting. I

have continually spoken againsthim, talked about him, to him and,on request, described him inmagazines. I'm fed up.

Yet, I can't grant him the triumph ofmy having exhausted the subject

matter. I'll go on. Where and how Ican.

But, isn't it just too daft constantlyreminding people that he oncesaid: No stone will stay upright

(Kein Stein wird auf dem anderenbleiben). That he already wasfrighteningly close to his dream ofthe Third Republic (Dritte Republik),the Haider-Empire (Haider-Reich).

Does one still have to explain topeople that his self-parking asCarinthia's regional chief of state(Landeshauptmann), this posingas simple party member

(einfaches Parteimitglied) werenothing but mean tricks? Hisparty leadership via interjectionsproves this on a daily basis. Doesone still have to warn againsttrusting his apparent retreat?

His defeat would be too big,almost overwhelming, were henot able to get back to the frontonce more. His borderlinepathological yearning for the

limelight cannot be quenchedwith a post as a football clubpresident.

Dammit! Doesn't anybody know



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that?

Haider's strategy reminds me abit of Franz-Josef Strauss':Remaining the paternal leader ofhis federal free state

(Landesvater im eigenenFreistaat) and then partly direct,parly heckle the work in the cityof federal government (Regierungsstadt). Consequently:prepare for the march on Vienna

(Marsh auf Wien). The fact thatStrauss and Bonn did not workat the time may be regarded as aglow of hope.

I'm also fed up having to explain

continually to Germans thatequation Haider = Nazi is far tooeasy thinking. The matter is notthat simple. Sure, Jrg Haider hasa relevant genetic disposition, but,

ideologically speaking, he iscertainly not pure-bred. ClassicalNazism implies principles verymean ones indeed, but principlesall the same. Haider the character isfar too post-modern: principles isan alien notion to him. He lookswhere he can find opportunities. Heis a gap-in-the-market-Nazi(Marktlckennazi by mir) Werner Schneyder- . On one hand,he is a primitive demagogue, onthe other, he is clever, cultured and

multilingual. Haider keeps closecontacts to the old guard(Ehemaligen) and the newPangermans (Deutschnationalen).

Haider uses people. He

instrumentalises the old and thepotential nazis. That's the danger.He could create a centre ofgravitation. Many may gravitatetowards that centre, especially a



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new and a real extreme-rightmovement. It is not sure at allwhether Haider would then be theirboss, or whether they would writehim off because of his crassnarcissism.

As we know, the world visions bythe Christian Democrats and theSocial-Democrats have beenconsiderably diluted, however, bothstill have the one or the othertaboo. As far as Haider is

concerned, there is nothing else onthe agenda but a fluctuating,extreme populism.

The successof Jrg Haider justthe fact that I'm writing about him

again justifies the term giveseminent German and Austriansintellectuals and self-importantposers reasons to suspect Austria tobe a Nazi-country. It is almost an

unreasonable expectation for me toexplain once again: In Austria,there are no more Nazis and raciststhan in any other country. However,in no other country, is there apolitician who has Haider's talent toactivate them. That's the point.

Everything in me is reluctant toadmit that Haider might almosthave succeeded at and after the1999 elections, albeit many yearsafter his constant predictions

announced it but still... He couldhave almost become AustrianChancellor, and, in any case, hedecisively influenced who wouldget the post with his blessing. Whovoted for him? How did Haider sell

a dummy programme package, - acontradictory box of presents thatare impossible to finance to



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voters across the social spectrum?How does he achieve this constantand unjustified feeling of something must change, thereneeds to be something new Howcould a blunt, racist mood repletewith false statistics take off? Whydoes inflammatory talk, untruths,retouched quotes, half-apologies,recalls followed by new lies notscare off people dramatically?

Who does not believe me that

looking for answers to thesequestions makes me feel likevomiting?Politically speaking, the Turn (DieWende) started in Austria with thetraditional character weakness of

the Christian-democrat leader. Ifwe become third, we go intoopposition,, the vice-Chancellorannounced. His party became third,he became Chancellor. Chancellor

of a farcical conservativecoalition. In Austria, the reviledSocial-Democrats in the oldcoalition were certainly moreconservativethan the party of ledby political gigolo Haider,collecting total-protestersovertaking the left and seducingthe right. The mighty punchline tothe joke is that this man alsomanaged an alliance with theconservative wing of the Catholicchurch.

Only moderately challenged by amanky, matted, indolent andincompetent (verzulten, verflilzten,faulen und unbegabten) GreatCoalition, he collected votes. Notonly from the Nazi-sympathising

old middle classes and moronicfun-yuppies, no: also from ascandal! - the left-wing deserted by



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the Social-Democrats: theunderprivileged, the missed-out,the forgotten. That voting boosttransformed Haider's movementinto worker's party. And then,when the government wasappointed, he was the nation'sfront-man, he basked in his ownimportance and retired after theTurn was achieved. He retired toCarinthia and withdrew his personfrom party debcles and theexposing of the great social

swindle, and he could remainsimply honest, simply Jrg!(einfach ehrlich, einfach Jrg!).

His plan is not allowed to succeed!

The greater part of me is reluctantto beat up the Social Democrats.But if we want to explain TheTurn, then it is unavoidable.Especially because their role in the

opposition forces them to to re-



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assess their principles again.These principles were lost. In anoverall prosperous country, theSocial-Democrats chronicallyoverlooked those who were notdoing well, those who feltmiserable. And also: the leaderswere always gob-smacked ifsomeone reminded them of thewidening social gap, and possiblyalso the widening gender gap.They referred you to their party

manifesto and could notcomprehend that a party manifestois only viable if its promises arefulfilled. Haider was allowed toeffortlessly refer to the shortfalls ofthe left and to assert that he had amore social perspective. That wasvery embarrassing.

The Social-Democrats electioncampaign itself was embarrassing

too. They did not examine claimsby the Freedom Party closely. TheHaider Poster He did not lie to

you (Er hat Euch nicht belogen)was left standing withoutargumentation. Instead of replyingBecause he never told the truth,the Reds in full seriousness -placated the slogan: The RightPath into the 21st Century (Derrichtige Weg ins 21st Jahrhundert).That path was not really possible tomiss. Even an idiot could find it.

Nowadays, party sympathisers feela mixture of grief about their fateas an opposition party and thedesire of a forced regeneration, andthe pleasure of active theoreticaland demagogic talent, combinedwith hope for argumentativeawareness against Haider.



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A populist can only be defeated byhis own contradictions. Citizensmust be told this constantly thatHaider already suggests everyopinion, every solution and theirexact opposites. It is required fromevery candidate to find their own

polemic talents. That talent hadbeen in short supply for a longtime. Obviously, this has changednow.At the first press conference by theside of Chancellor Schssel, the

proudly smiling E.U. opponentHaider waved the European flag infront of the cameras. At the sametime, he formally requested areferendum against the E.U.enlargement. However, if he wereto travel to Hungary in the nearfuture, one can be sure that hewould distribute little E.U. Flags tothe children and the needy.

Where does this man come from?How did he become what he is? Ire-iterate: it is an unreasonableexpectation to tell the story onceagain but we need the picture.

It all started in Upper Austria, in a

lower-class family who has Nazi-sympathies. Young Jrgl grew upwith parents who felt wronged(unrecht)after the end of World War2. Naturally, this had an influenceon him. They sent the talented fella

to study and he achievedsomething academically. However,it felt like too much work to pursuea career in academia the NobelPrize was unreachable. Politicsoffered more promises for thelimelight. He looked around and hefound the FPO (Austrian FreedomParty). Haider saw a chance withliberal-democrat wing of the party,however, there was no chance of



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leadership from there, neither forthe party nor for himself. He had tobecome the prime candidate, thatwas his goal: primus inter pares(first amongst equals) and soonamongst parasites and this isexactly what happened. He

managed to change to the right-wing of the party from the startingblock. In the meantime, he wasoperating from Carinthia (Krnten) the 26-year old Upper Austrianhad mutated into a pure breed

Carinthian with roots dating backfrom twelve generations (!). He alsomet a political headmistress, aclassical Nazi-Dame, an old BDM(=Bund DeutscherMdel = Nazi girl

youth group) and she was reallycalled Kriemhild. Haider was taughthow to represent the homeland(Heimat). At the FPO Partyconference, he succeeded in acarefully planned putsch. The

meteoric rise of Jrg Haider hadbegun.

For the rise, he used a talent, or,better said, the desire to have one.That is because Jrg Haider oncewanted to be an actor. This

explains a lot. The desire nay: thelust for the limelight, for theapplause and to be loved by thepublic takes one along strangepaths. One may conclude thatpolitics came to him as a

compensation a bit like it cameas a compensation for anothercompatriot in German-culturehistory. Jrg Haider became theactor of politics, indeed in amanner that would not have takenhim beyond a third-rate tour, hadhe been in the theatre profession.He hams it up, and what surprisesme is that nobody notices. Perhapsit's because there is an over-supply



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of bad actors on TV and peoplewatching the screen have un-learntto notice when someone can onlydisguise themselves with greatdifficulty.

Jrg Haider constantly plays roles.

He walks into the pub (Gasthaus)inregional costume (Trachtenanzug).

When meeting youngentrepreneurs, he wears the latestdesigner look. In front of the classyauditorium, he wears the correct

suit. His choice of words and toneis flexible in a similar way. At thebeer-tent, he is the top geezer(klasse Bursche) who verbally lets itrip. At press conferences or duringtalk-shows, he plays the elderstatesman opposite the haplessopponent. Everything isexaggerated, everything isoutrageous, however, whenreaching to his public, he is

impressive.He insists on the people's decision:Power to Haider! (Haider an dieMacht!). Who can prevent him?Eventually, the regicide within hisown ranks. The smart face of the

fifty-year old has begun to showwrinkles and there are manyhandsome young men who trustthemselves as leaders. Eventually,the regicide by the Pangermans(Deutschnationalen) who find him

too slippery.

If he was successful, he couldbecome a role model for politicianswithin his empire (Reich) andbeyond, in Europe. What can stophim for good?

First, a downturn in popularopinion. The elderly publisher ofKronen-Zeitung daily newspaper isangry at Haider. He wanted to keep



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him as the leader of the opposition:a barking dog, a provocative voice,a story provider, a vehicle for thepublisher. Against the advice of themighty and all-mighty Krone, theFPO became involved in thegovernment. There had to be

consequences. The retirement ofStaberl who helped shapeopinions was possibly one of theconsequences. From his arthriticand remarkable perspective, Staberlstubbornly and faithfully supported

the youthfulness of Haider andhis devotion, psychologically-speaking, moved from lovey-doveytenderness to political old-queerness (Alterschwulitt).

What should also stop Haider is hisperformance as regional father(Landesvater), as a paternalcountry-lad and that performanceis lamentable. One should refuse to

depict it. When it is about such bigthings like building a new hospitalwing or dealing with the ownershipof the Seebhne (a lakeside venuefor concerts and events) etc etc etc,Haider stands there, announces adecision, explains the reasons and

lets people celebrate him for hisdecision and the reasons. Twoweeks later, there he stands again,revokes everything and demands tobe celebrated for that. Heunderstands the federal region as

an stage. He forces a densecalendar of events just to standoutside every entrance to shakehands. It is impossible to avoidHaider the omnipresent greeting-man: no entry without seeing him.In his buzz for events, Haider leavesall the guidelines at the door andthat led to the withdrawal ofAndreas Mlzer, who had beencultural adviser and main party



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ideologist. As that straight-lacedright-winger had potential to reel inthe followers, there was damagedone to Haider from the right.

In the meantime he placates thewhole region full with his portraits

and the claim: Carinthia blooms(Krnten blht auf), he has brochureafter brochure printed and theybasically contain Haider photos.

He has taken the region hostage.

Carinthia is still traumatised by itsdefensive battle (Abwehrkampf)against the Slovenes. Now it has achance to revise its opinion.Carinthians could say to themselvesthat if they managed to stave off

the Slovenes, then surely they cansucceed in getting rid of Haider.And the memorable sloganCarinthia free and undivided(Krnten frei und ungeteilt) could

be interpreted as free from Haiderand undivided by him.

Do I find anything good about theman? At the most this: often, Haidermay have hoped for a secondchance, perhaps one with the Green

Party (die Grne) or a new Left-wingParty. Perhaps in his self-analysis,he was fed up having to stayfaithful to the Nazi-subscribers.However, it was too late for him:there was no way back.

He plasters over the cracks withmedia role playing. One hopes thathe will share the fate of mediocremedia celebrities. After the greatpopulist soap opera, nobody maywish to see him again. He willdisappear in Valley of the Bears(Brental). Goodbye forever and thecolours on the autograph cards willfade.



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Werner Schneyder

Author: Werner Schneyder Ansichten eines Soloisten. (2002)Kremayr & Sheriau Vienna (part ofRandom House Publishings)

Sometimes my opinions get on mynerves, but I have no others.. Born

in 1937 in Graz/Styria/Austria, Werner Schneyder grew up inKlagenfurt/Carinthia where he stilllives when he is not working inVienna. He studied publishing and

art history graduated with adoctorate at the University ofVienna. Journalist, underwriter andplaywright, his career hasembraced the diversities of awriter's life. In 1974, he was part ofa duo with German cabaretist

Dieter Hildebrandt, then heembarked on a solo career as aperformance satirist. He was also abar-singer, a boxer, a boxing matchreferee, TV-script author, guestsports commentator, talk-show

presenter, and avid visitors ofHeurigen (Wine-gardens) and cafes.He held the funeral eulogy ofchancellor Bruno Kreisky in

An independent author since 1965,he has written scripts for TV, loadsof books, countless articles innewspapers. Ansichten einesSoloisten (Opinions of a soloist) is acollection of feuilletons about



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people, politics and culture. In oneof these pieces he praises his rolemodel the pacifist militant writerErich Kstner. His latest work is aspoken word CD of Erich Kastner'swritings and his latest book iscalled Cancer a post-script

where he deals with the subject ofhis wife dying of cancer andappeals for more humane medicalcare.

Werner Schneyder is in my opinion

on of the best Austrian authors I'veread and I had the pleasure to hearhim moderating a politicaldiscussion in Vienna in 2001. He isan author who has clear cutopinions and principles, and yet hecommands admiration because ofhis vast knowledge and affablepersona. A true polymath.

Werner Schneyder, Kabarettist,*1937:"Einsamkeit ist Belstigung durchsich selbst."

Loneliness is self-annoyance



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There are several aspects that makethe 1999 Austrian elections and itsaftermath a universal theme.

a) political legacies

The Social-Democrats under ViktorKlima, Alfred Gusenbauer and now

Werner Fayman had difficultiesclaiming the moral high ground fortheir party. Public opinion agree

that this younger generation ofleaders can not be held responsiblefor the Lucona kriminal andfinancial in 1977. It was also anunhappy sign of moderneconomical times, that a bankowned by the Austrian Socialist

trade-union lost billions in hedge-fund trading. Another millstonearound the Social-Democrats neckis the fact after the war, the partyunlike the conservatives, did notrestrict membership from former

members of the Nazi-Party. At thetime, and right until the time ofBruno Kreisky (himself a Jew whowas tortured under the Nazis) sawthis second chance as a way ofrehabilitating Nazis, or denazifyingthe country. Kreisky is well knownfor his personal clashes againstSimon Wiesenthal concerningdealing with Austria's Nazi past.Unfortunately, several high profile



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Nazis used the Social Democraticcover to escape justifying for theircrimes. The most prominent figurewas Dr Gross who did experimentson mentally ill children at theSpiegelgrund Hospital during thewar. Viktor Klima ruled out any

possibility of Social-Democratcoalition with the far-right FreedomParty, and trained political historianAlfred Gusenbauer discussed hisparty's legacy. Their integrity hasrestored trust amongst the more

idealistic party supporters. Thecurrent Austrian president HeinzFischer who served under Kreiskyleaves with the legacy that hetacitely supported Kreisky's viewsas he says, he doesn't likeantagonising people.

Another legacy is the Social-Democrat-Conservative coalitionthat ruled the country for many

years. While many party members

and militants feel comfortable withsome conservative concessions,others see a grand coalition as aforced marriage. Having said that,the success or failure of a grandcoalition depends on thepersonalities in charge. In 1999, a

social-democrat/conservativecoalition was not possible becausethe conservative candidate

Wolfgang Schuessel ruled outworking with Viktor Klima. Thebiggest problem for the Social-

Democrats, apart from the BAWAG,denationalisations and the currentfinancial crisis that is affecting theglobal economy is whether to rulealone in a minority government(they usually end up aroundbetween 34 and 45%) or makeconcessions to the Conservatives.Currently, they are in a coalitionwith the Conservatives.



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The Conservatives (OVP) ThePeople's Party

http://www.oevp.at

Wolfgang Schssel

Anchored in middle-class valueswith a strong support from thecountry-side, a brotherly

relationship with the Catholicchurch, the Conservatives haveideologically remained the samesince the creation of the republic in1955. They did not offer

membership to former members ofthe Nazi party. This may also haveto do with the fact, that the Naziparty persecuted many churchmembers as some catholics refusedto join the Nazi party. One of theirmost controversial party members

however, turned out to be a formerNazi who slipped through the net.Kurt Waldheim had made it as faras Austrian president and UNgeneral secretary. In1999,ambitious Wolfgang Schuessel

became a controversial figure inAustria and abroad. Having refusedto be part of a coalition with ViktorKlima's Social-Democrats, his partyworked with Haider's FreedomParty. Schuessel had to walk atightrope between people in theparty who refused to work withHaider one of them was the then

http://www.oevp.at/http://www.oevp.at/


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Thomas Klestil

http://www.ena.lu/address_given_thomas_klestil_austrias_role_europe

_london_february_1995-020004600.html

president (and jazz singer JoeZawinul's friend) Thomas Klestil. Itis to Klestil's credit that the

government treaded cautiously ondiplomatic grounds, Schuessel'scoalition partner the Freedom Partyproposed new faces like Karl-Heinz

Grasser and Suzanne Riess-Passerwho came from the Liberal wing ofthe Freedom Party. At the sametime, the Conservatives appointedseasoned diplomat Benita Ferrero-

Waldner as foreign secretary andErnst Strasser as Home Secretary,

who at the time was seen as themost liberal element of thegovernment. It is also to Strasser'scredit that the governmentnormalised because the FPOagenda worried many Human

Rights organization, having aconservative Home Secretary andForeign Secretary would makethings easier for Schuessel. Inrecent years, Strasser positionbecame more hardline, but lessthan feared. Nowadays, Ferrero-

Waldner is a Europeancommissioner and her diplomaticbackground serves her well. Themost controversial recent figure in



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the Conservative party wasKarlheinz Grasser who switchedover from the Freedom Party in2002. The government's financesecretary was admired for hisachievements at such a young age(he was born in 1969), however, his

neo-con policies were ascontroversial as his involvement inthe BAWAG finance scandal. Heretired from politics in 2007 towork for the MAGNA mining group.In 2006, Schussel announced that

his party would not work with theFreedom party (now split into twoparties), and this opened the doorsagain for a social-democrat/conservative coalition,especially now that everyone fromthe 1999 constellation has left their

position, and this been so since2006.

The Liberal Forum is relatively new.

It is a breakaway group that left theFreedom Party because whilst theyagreed with the economic policiescomparable to other EuropeanLiberal Parties, they did not want toassociate with the right-wing socialaspect of it. Currently they

cooperate with the Social-Democratic party and they haveonly one candidate in theparliament.

The Green Alternative are an olderparty who appeared in 1986. Theyprotested against Kurt Waldheim'sappointment as presidentialcandidate. They have steadily



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grown into the now third biggestAustrian party with 21 seats in theparliament. They are one of thebiggest green party in Europe.

The Freedom Party split in 2006

into two parties: The Alliance forAustria's Future led by Haider andthe new Freedom Party led by KarlHeinz Strache. The Alliance forAustria's future features people whohave been involved withSchuessel's government: HerbertHaupt former Social Secretary, Peter

Westenthaler who was spokesman,Ursula Haubner who is Haider'ssister. It is believed that the partywooed floating voters away fromthe Conservatives. They gained 21

seats at the last election. Haidersaw the 2006 election as anotherstab at him becoming chancellor ina coalition with the new FreedomParty, however, neither the Greens,

nor the Conservatives nor the SocialDemocrats were prepared to entera coalition with either far-rightparty.

Strache's party netted 34 seats andhis party faces the same situationas the Future for Austria. In thewake of Haider's death, a re-unification between the two far-right parties was expected but thisnever happened. Strache's partyseems to attract protest voters whoare disillusioned with the Social-

Democrats

The lesson that we can learn fromthis aspect of Austrian politics isthat parties need to identify whatthey stand for, find the candidatesto win the election and haveenough diplomacy to collaboratewith partners of choice and not losetouch with their base and the



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public. It is also important to keepan eye on protest- and floatingvoters.

It is a sign that politics lose touchwith the public, when the biggestparty in an election is the one thatdoes not have a candidate: theabstentionists. It is a right not tovote, but also a squanderedopportunity.

Proportional representationIn Austria, there is a simplemajority system. Other countries,like France have a system ofabsolute majority. Theoretically, theparty that gets the most votes atthe legislative election forms thegovernment. It is possible for the

leading party to govern on its own,however, since parliament has 183seats, it is difficult to passlegislation if, say, the leading partyhas 57 seats. Austria has now five

big parties whose seatrepresentation veers between 57and 20 seats. Any kind of coalitionis possible if the combined total isover 92.

Currently, there is a grand coalition

between the party that came first(57 seats Social Democrats) andthe second (51 seats Conservatives).

In 1999, the situation was different.

The Social Democrats had 65 seats,the Conservatives 52, the Freedomparty 52 and the Greens 14. ViktorKlima's Social-Democrats could notreach 92 seats with the Greens, andthe Schuessel's conservatives wouldnot work with him. Klima ruled out

a coalition with Haider's Freedomparty upfront. However, theFreedom Party and the ConservativeParty seats combined totalled 104



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and therefore they could form aviable coalition.

There are certain problems workingwithin a coalition. For examples,ideological differences on specificissues can lead to a crisis, the

coalition break-up or even a partybreak up. All these aspectshappened with the Schusselgovernment: there were personaldifferences between governmentministers, the coalition broke up in

2002, yet was re-elected and in2006 the Freedom Party split intothe New Freedom Party and theAlliance for Austria's Future.

A party that governs with acoalition may also lose touch with

their militants. Elections are allabout standing out from otherparties, whereas coalition is aboutcooperation and compromise. Party

hardliners are likely to bedisappointed with their party'sperformance, they feel the ideologygets watered down. What made theparty under Viktor Klima unpopularwith traditional social-democratvoters was its adoption of the Third

Way, less left-wing traditionalthemes and more modernapproach. Nationalised industrieswere denationalised and the TradeUnions had less influence thanand talks about economic efficiency

as if the country was a business torun. Many disaffected voters fromthe Social-Democrat camp say thatthey cannot identify with thepeople in government. Hence thephenomenon of floating, protestand abstentionist voters. A party in

government is likely to bringdisappointment anyway, becausebudget limitations and globaleconomics may tie their hands and



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force them to make unpopulatdecisions. Militants also see thegovernment behaving more like amanager, a civil servant althoughmost people aknowledge that agovernment is meant to serve thewhole country.

When coalitions are efficient, theelectorate is complacent enough tokeep voting traditionally. However,members of the electorate may feelalienated, even betrayed, if the

party strays too far from theiroriginal manifesto in fact, whenthe coalition partners becomevirtually interchangeable. "Whatdifference does it make?" - casting aprotest vote is meant to give awake-up call for the party to re-

examine their identity.

The rise of populists like Haiderand the electoral rise of the far-

right has been a product of thedemocratic voting system. Suchpeople and parties thrive on thevacuum created when establishedparties move away from theirtradition or fail to address issues ofconcern. One can well imagine a

situation where a far-right, afundamentalist or any extremeparty may be able to seize power. Ittakes a majority in parliament to doso. As we can see, a total of 92seats enables the government to

pass legislation. If such parties gainrespectability, and such parties likethe new Freedom Party and theAlliance for the Future of Austriaare no longer populated bymembers of the Nazi party, simplybecause of the fact that most of

them are dead. However, we couldsee in Werner Schneyder's essayhow in Haider's the Nazi ideologywas passed on to him by his



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mentors and parents. AlthoughHaider was not a Nazi himself,some watered down aspects of theideology was passed onto theFreedom Party. If far-right ideologybecomes casual and voting for aparty that has far-right inclination

will no longer raise eyebrows athome nor abroad. It is up to us -the electorate - to decide how muchwe are able to compromise. Sameapplies to fundamentalism andextremism. How far do we want a

religious party, an ideological partyor a nationalist party to go on ourbehalf?

Many extreme parties have gainedpower via revolutions or coups.Some remember how General

Pinochet overthrew SalvadorAllende's government in Chile inSeptember 1973. This is only onepost-1945 example and we could

find many more. Such governmentsstruggle to find diplomaticrecognition and international trust,even though Pinochet's had alliesamongst neo-con politicians.

In Europe, the AKP- an Islamist

party won the elections in Turkey,while the far-right Nationalistmovement came third. If acontroversial party isdemocratically elected, it will beregarded as more legitimate than a

government imposed by force, evenif diplomatic relations are strained.Voters need to be aware of whichparties they validate with theirvotes. Of course, a party with anapparently worrying agenda mayturn out to lead a stable and fair

government but it is a bit of agamble to bank on that.



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Democracy and Human RightsThe word democracy comes fromthe ancient Greek language. In the5th BC the city state of Athens wasgoverned by its people who electedrepresentatives. At that time, the

notion of democracy combinedwith human rights did not exist. Inour days, the definition of democracy as a regime elected bythe people with separation ofpowers and respect of humanrights is still controversial.

Some people have pointed atdemocracy as an imperfect regimebecause it can in effect mean atyranny by a majority, if themajority party governs in such a

way as not to allow free speech oropposition politics. During the ageof the Enlightenment (18th C),political philosopher Charles de

Montesquieu argued for aseparation of powers: thegovernment, parliament and courtof justice need to be separated ifthe country is to get a fair deal.This is called the balance ofpowers. In the 19th Century, there

was the concept of nation states orpeople who wanted to emancipatethemselves from an Empire or bepart of a wider nation.Pangermanism and Panslavism wasthe desire respectively to unite all

the German-speaking peopleand/or the Slavonic people.Haider's motto for his Freedomparty and also the title of his book"The Freedom that I mean" stemsfrom quote during the 1848 peopleprotest by pan-Germans who

wanted to form a nation. Germanywas created in 1871, Italy the same

year, and Yugoslavia all thesecountries are nation-states: they



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unite a group of people who feelthey are part of the samecommunities. Certain ideas from thethe right-wing camp are anchoredin nationalism. Other nations havepatriotic ideas, and by that theymean that they want to preserve

the culture within their own countryand to protect their border however a patriot accept the ideaof a multicultural state. Manytraditional Austrians, especially theConservatives are patriotic, because

of the older history of their countryas a multilingual state.

Only in the late 19th C/ early 20th

century was it possible for thelower classes and women to have asay in politics. This means that a

groups of voters became available.Traditionally, trade-union membersand many city working classpeople, social housing tennants

and their families have been votingfor social-democratic or socialistparties, whereas more traditional-minded families voted forconservatives. The lowering of thevoting age brought younger voters.

The notion that democracy isassociated with the respect ofhuman rights came forth after theSecond World War. The NSDAP inGermany was democraticallyelected in 1933 and not only tookthe country into a World War, butalso committed genocide against aminority and violently silenced theopposition. The consensus camethat this was not allowed to happenagain, therefore when the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights

declared the intrinsic rights ofindividuals to equal rights andfreedom, the ideas becameenshrined in most democracies. In



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fact, a few countries had a bill ofright in one form or another in their

justice system or constitution. TheUniversal Declaration of HumanRights has inspired countries toadapt their legislations to theminimum standards expressed by

the document. A Declaration has nolegal value but by aknowledging it,there is a form of consensus by thestates.

In Europe, there is a documentcalled The European Convention ofHuman Rights (1950, plus fiveprotocols), it is a treaty that hasnow been ratified by mostEuropean states and therefore ispart of national legislation.

Because Austria ratified theEuropean Convention of HumanRights and has a constitution thatprovides checks and balances of

power, the diplomatic crisis in 2000caused by the controversial choiceof coalition could be averted. Thepresident Thomas Klestil was ableto exercise his power to vetoagainst some Freedom Partymembers to become government

ministers and legislations had toconform to the constitution.

In Austria, Haider was effectivelybarred from getting intogovernment and his party had tosolemnly acknowledge to respectthe constitution, and express thedesire to be at the service of all thevoters, deal with the EuropeanUnion and with other countries atdiplomatic level. The legislationhad to conform to the constitution.

The Conservative Home SecretaryMr Ernst Strasser was the onlycabinet minister who did notcondemn the Thursday



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Demonstrations ( anti-Governmentprotests that were held everyThursday throughout the country);by doing so he allowed free speechby the opposition. The Freedomparty showed pragmatism ingovernment but lost touch with

their base. As a trained legalacademic, Joerg Haider knew howto operate within the Austrian legalsystem and constitution, that wasone of his strong points.

The lesson that voters can learnfrom this is that we need to knowabout the constitution or if ourcountry does not have one (= theUK), the jurisprudence andlegislation so that we can be surethat there are enough legal

safeguards to prevent abuses ofpower from elected parties aka themuch dreaded tyranny by majority,

Populism and celebrityPopulism and celebrity culture walkhand in hand. Politicians know thatin order to appeal to their votersthey need the popular touch,someone who can make inspiring

speeches and be a poster boyabove a slogan to advertise theparty at its best. Electoralcampaigns have a lot in commonwith advertising, from heavyrotation informercials to billboards,pamphlets, public discussions andpublic events. During the recent USelections, president-elect BarackObama proved to have the commontouch, the image and the substancebehind it. The result was that amajority of representatives elected

him (US presidential elections areindirect). Competent people whodraft ideologies, economic policies,do budget calculations to



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determine public spending will beseen rather as experts than leadersthemselves. In the 1999 Austrianelections, Chancellor Viktor Klimadelivered competent speechesbeing able to explain economics tohis audiences all credits to him

for that because few people areable to make comprehensiblespeeches about that subject matter.Economics however is not the mostfascinating subject this may havechanged now because people wantto know all about the credit crunchand the financial markets and howthis affects their jobs, house pricesand savings... Klima was seen as acompetent economist andcompetent administrator, this iswhy his party won the most seats.

Perversely what made him popularis what caused his downfall: hisrefusal to ideologically compromisewith Haider's Freedom party and

therefore ruling it out of a possiblecoalition. Had he done that, hewould have been able to stay inpower. His gesture was seen asnoble and he was regarded as agraceful loser. From a celebrityviewpoint, some members of the

public empathised with hisdisillusions. His background ineconomics secured him a job at theArgentine branch of Volkswagenthe car manufacturer, this was notan enviable position becauseArgentina was in a deep economiccrisis. Nowadays he is generalmanager of the South Americandivision of Volkswagen and ishighly regarded because of hissuccess He became a bit of amedia celebrity when he divorced

his wife, and his health problemscaused by his heavy smoking hehas now quit smoking.



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By the same token, AlfredGusenbauer - his successor as partyleader in 2000 was the right personat the right time for the party.Being in the opposition gave hisparty the opportunity of taking astep back and analyse its identity.Mr Gusenbauer will be remembered

for his integrity and intellect, even

though these qualities did notmake him a leader. Gusenbauer'sparty lost the election in 2002 and

Michael Hauepl Vienna Mayor andconsidered to be Werner Faymann'smentor www.wienweb.at

won it in 2006, yet he was unablein the end to unify the SocialDemocrats and therefore provehimself as a strong leader. Heresigned in 2008 and his successor

Werner Fayman was sworn in onDecember 2nd. He seems to be keenon unifying his party and, hisadvantage is that he is well-knownin the capital because he wasinvolved in Viennese municipal

politics, he is not encumbered by apersonal legacy and seems tomakes speeches that appeal to hisparty's main voters. Mario Telo,Political Science editor in Brussels,



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explained that Faymann

campaigned using populist rethoricand collaborating with the media.In fact, The Krone is the strongestpopulist newspaper and likes tothink of itself as an opinions-shaper, by explaining that he is not

a yes-man for the European Union,Faymann exploited the current anti-European climate in Austria withthe aim to woo back disgruntledvoters who voted for Haider. Hisuse of words like social justice,fairness name-checking of USpresident elect Barack Obama are apopulist approach. Like Obama,Faymann seems to have emergedfrom nowhere (he used to betransport secretary) and he iscertainly more popular than the

less media-savvy rather gruff AlfredGusenbauer. It remains to see howmuch substance he can put nowthat he is Chancellor.

Werner Fayman on the right.Photo:www.wienweb.at

The ideal democratic candidate

would respect democratic ideals,have integrity, say the right thingsat the right time, have a populartouch and an untarnishedreputation and be able to lookgood in the media, be able to getmaximum support and havepersonality, be able to work withdifferent groups within the countryand abroad, delegated and appointthe right people and be extremely

http://www.wienweb.at/content.aspx?menu=1&cid=154589http://www.wienweb.at/content.aspx?menu=1&cid=154589


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competent. This is what we expect

from a perfect political candidateand if he is from our favouriteparty, even better. Problems for ourparty start when the others find apopular candidate.

Personally, I think, it is better tovote for someone with integrityrather than being dazzled bycharisma, and taking the populistbait. It is not so much a gamble ifthe celebrity is from our own partybecause if this person strays, wehope that the colleagues willreplace him. If it is someone from aparty we do not know, then thecelebrity vote becomes a gamble.

Because celebrities know how to

manipulate the media, they court itand they are courted. A flamboyantcharacter will always provide agood story. Viktor Klima's health

problems and divorce seemed

better fodder than his speeches oneconomics. With WolfgangSchuessel there were photoopportunities with him playing thecello with his family and quaintholiday pictures that fit well in the

human interest section. The medialaments that the politicians in theold days were more flamboyantthat the current lot. Thecontroversial larger than life BrunoKreisky or the dapper Helmut Zilk.Life is difficult for a paper like TheKronen-Zeitung and the politicianswho want to use it for exposure.The public needs to be aware thatmedia omnipresence is notequivalent with popularity orpower. If this was the case,

everyone on the front page wouldbe a well-loved popular person orat least someone who has someclout. Celebrities from A to Z are



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just famous or infamous and they

feature in our populist papersbecause they appeal to the lowestcommon denominator. The lowestcommon denominator is notnecessarily a bad thing, we are allin a favour of a fairer society,

peace, love, social justice etc. As Werner Fayman's campaignpartially proved: blandness andpopulism works, his party still camefirst albeit not convincingly.Compared to Klima, Gusenbauer,Schuessel and Faymann and theircolleagues across the spektrum,Joerg Haider was a mine for mediastories and that is why he was abona-fide celebrity politician.

With celebrities, after a while, it

becomes difficult to distinguishmyth from reality. Depending fromthe perspective Haider was eitherthe man on the pulse of the nation

or the most dangerous far-right

politician. The fact that peopleabroad tend to associate Austriawith Haider shows how far hisrepute has reached internationally.Apart from Arnold Schwarneneggerthe expat Austrian, he is the most

famous contemporary citizen of hiscountry. Because of his infamouscelebrity status, one could reallybelieve he was ruling Austria. And Ihope that the essays show onceand for all, that he didn't. It wasprobably his wishful thinking.

Haider was certainly cut to bringhis points across. His legalacademic training taught him howto argue his case and he was anexcellent debater on TV. His

flamboyant personality never failedto attract the populist media andhave the less-populist media focuson him and analyze him. Some



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cheeky voters certainly felt

Schadenfreude when they saw thefrustration on his opponents faces.It was a blessing in disguise thatthe celebrity politician was soenamoured with his own imagethat he believed his own hype and

the media circus, and also ablessing in disguise that he wasbusy recruiting fans rather thanpolitical militants, that he failed incarrying his party's message acrosseffectively. Snappy soundbites andphoto opportunities do not provideenough time to explain AndreasMoelzer's views on multiculturalismthat form the backbone of theFreedom party.

A celebrity tends to appear more

and more like a two-dimensionalcharacter. There is no doubt thatHaider was an intelligent man, andno doubt either that he was not a

Nazi. He was neither the saviour

nor the villain of Austrian politics.The two-dimensional imagesfocusing more on his clothes wouldnot really ellaborate on hislanguage skills (he spoke severallanguages fluently). His desire to be

famous ensured that he wasperceived as shallow. Politics asfame nor as day to day affairs ofthe city, yet he was a competentregional leader of Carinthia, neitherbankrupting the place nor makingit a paradise to live in. There wastoo much populism in his speechand like all the other politicians hecould not fulfill all his promises. Hisparty colleagues saw him more andmore like front, a dummy to gettheir party elected via the celebrity

route. Without Haider, their job willbe more difficult even though theywill continue to net floating anddisgruntled voters from the main



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coalition parties if Mr Faymann and

Co disappoint their voters.

The lesson to be learnt for us votersis this: we should not be distractedby media hype, flashy websites,pleasing words, fancy photos,

soundbites, billboards, stories orflamboyant personality. We have tobe aware that when we vote for apolitician we vote for the party thatthis person represents. If thisperson gets elected, they will try toenforce their party manifesto andideology.

It is up to us to check these peopleand their parties if they are goodfor us as citizens and good for ourcountry. One good reason not to

vote for Haider's freedom party andthe current parties that succeededit is the fact that Austria'sreputation suffers internationally if

it is associated with right-wing

politics and some people will alsostart associating it with Nazis. LikeMost countries and their citizensare keen to receive tourists,enhance their trade, do businessand diplomatic/cultural profile.

Austria is no different, and we mustkeep in mind, that far-right partiesin Austria have less support thanthey think. They can't rely onprotest and floating voters and aswe said before the majority party isthe non-party of abstentionists.



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conclusionThese are the lessons to be learntfrom the story of the CelebrityPolitician. At human level, there wasa tragic car accident that lead tothe death of a man who was

visiting his mother after a fewdrinks with his friends. It isimportant not to create a myth, norto demonise people. This longessay about political lessons tolearn is to demonstrate that it isimportant for all of us citizens fromour respective countries toparticipate in the political life.

We need to think about the rise offar-right, fundamentalist or extremeparties within the democratic

process and work out in our mindswhether we genuinely associatewith their ideas or whether we areannoyed with our traditional

parties. It makes more sense to tell

our own party what they have doneto annoy us the public by givingthem precise freedback becausein a democracy we are perfectlyentitled to ask questions and notonly when it is election time. Of

course, should not expect miraclesand we need to stay informed.Democracy is not just for politiciansand academics and media, as itsname says, it means all the peoplein the country.

In my opinion, the most importantlesson to be learnt from theAustrian 1999 election that isrelevant and topical to any countryis this: The fastest growing partyand now biggest party of all in

democracies is the League ofAbstentionists. Unlike the otherparties, it is not organized, it has nomilitants, no candidates, no



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programme, no ideologies except

the idea of staying at home whenit's election time. The League ofAbstentionists has therefore neverbeen in power and never will be.How frustrating is that. We saw thefrustration of the Social-Democratic

party that came first yet did not getto rule the country. Eight years laterthey did, The League of Abstentionists cannot console itselfwith the hope of ever having a sayin how the country is run.

Generations before us strived forthe right to participate in thepolitical affairs of the country. If wevalue democracy, human rights, ourvoting rights and want to go onliving in democracies voting for our

traditional parties Conservatives,Social democrats, Greens, Liberalsetc etc then we need to stopgazing at stars and starlets, go to

the ballot box and leave the party

of Abstentionism. The biggestdanger for democracy is apathyand disinformation. I started thisarticle with a book that I bought in2002 when I lived in Vienna, now Iam in the UK and therefore shall

conclude with a quote I saw at theBritish Library that commemoratestheir current exhibition abouthuman rights:"People died for theright to vote, so why do more

young people vote during X-factorthan the General Election". FromTaking Liberties The Struggle forBritain's Freedom and Rights. 2008


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about the Author

Dominique Hoffman

born 1966 in Constance Germany,Franco-German writer,photographer, translator. Lived in

Vienna from 2000 to 2003. M.A. InApplied Foreign Languages(Commerce and International Law).Second prize of Austrian EuropeanSocial-Democrat Bureau for Europethe music plays here (2001),Bohemian Tales Decalogue (fiction)

2008 and the website zebras54radioevropawww.geocities.com/zebras54 since2002 featuring photos and articles.

lives in Belfast.


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http://www.geocities.com/zebras54http://www.geocities.com/zebras54


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Lessons to Be Learnt - English language

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