Jörg Haider
Encyclopedia
Jörg Haider (ˈjœɐ̯k ˈhaɪdɐ; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian
politician. He was Governor of Carinthia
on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria
(Bündnis Zukunft Österreich, BZÖ), a breakaway party from the FPÖ.
Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments that were widely condemned as praising Nazi policies or as xenophobic or anti-Semitic. Several countries imposed mild diplomatic sanctions against his party's participation in government alongside Wolfgang Schüssel
s ÖVP
, starting from 2000.
Haider died in a car accident
shortly after leading the BZÖ in the Austrian Parliamentary elections
.
, the Austrian affiliate of the German NSDAP). They were from different backgrounds. Haider's father, Robert Haider, was a shoemaker. His mother, Dorothea Rupp, was the daughter of a well-to-do physician
and head of the gynaecology
ward at the general hospital of Linz
.
Robert Haider joined the DNSAP in 1929 as a fifteen year-old boy, four years before Adolf Hitler
came to power in Germany. He remained a member even after the Nazi Party was banned in Austria and after Engelbert Dollfuss
had dissolved the Austrian parliament and established a Ständestaat
, a fascist
dictatorship
. In 1933, Haider senior moved to Bavaria
but returned to Austria the following year after the failed Nazi attempt to overthrow the Austrian government. He was arrested and chose to move back to Germany where he joined the Austrian Legion, a division of the Sturmabteilung
.
Haider senior completed a two-year military service in Germany and returned to Austria in 1938 after it was annexed
by Nazi Germany (the Anschluss
). From 1940, he fought as a junior officer on the Western and Eastern Fronts in Europe during the Second World War. Having been wounded several times, he was discharged from the Wehrmacht
with the rank of lieutenant. In 1945, he married Dorothea Rupp, at that time a leader in the Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM).
Following the end of the war, Haider's parents were investigated as part of the denazification
process, conducted to determine what measures should be taken against them because of their NSDAP membership (proceedings against all former Nazis—NSDAP members and collaborators—were undertaken as a matter of law in both Austria and Germany after the war ended). They were labelled as "Minderbelastet" (meaning "compromised to a lesser degree", i.e. low-ranking in the NSDAP structure). Robert Haider found a job in a shoe factory. Dorothea Haider, who had been a teacher, was prohibited from teaching for a few years following the end of the war. Robert was forced to dig graves, which their son recalled as a "brutal injustice." Haider's mother eventually outlived him, turning ninety on the day he died.
n town of Bad Goisern
in 1950, a time when his parents' finances were rather moderate, and his elder sister, later Ursula Haubner
, five years old. He was a good student in primary school and attended high school in Bad Ischl
despite his parents' financial situation. Haider was reportedly always top of his class in high school. During his time in Bad Ischl
he had first contacts with nationalist organizations, such as the Burschenschaft
Albia, a right-wing student group.
After he graduated with highest distinction in 1968, he moved to Vienna to study law. During his studies he was affiliated again with a Burschenschaft: Silvania. After graduating from the University of Vienna
with the title of Dr. iur.
in 1973 he was drafted into the Austrian Army where he voluntarily spent more than the mandatory nine months (called 'the voluntary one year'). In 1974 he started to work at the University of Vienna
law faculty in the department of constitutional law.
Throughout his career Haider had concentrated his politics on Carinthia. In addition, Haider's personal life was heavily connected with this part of Austria: Haider became wealthy in 1983 when he inherited the estate of Wilhelm Webhofer, who had owned a large parcel of land in Carinthia commonly known as 'Bärental' (bear valley). This estate has a history that came up in the 1990s in the Austrian media
. The land had been owned by an Italian Jew until 1941. At that point in time the Nazis still hesitated to take possession of property owned by non-German Jews without any compensation. Inside Italy Jewish property was not yet open for confiscation and the Mussolini government was not inclined to allow this happen to Jewish nationals abroad either. Thus when the estate was sold in 1941, one Josef Webhofer (a former resident of South Tyrol
, Italy, and an Optant) paid 300,000 Reichsmark
(about $
1.5 million today) to obtain title to the land. After the war Mathilde Roifer, the widow of the former Jewish owner of Bärental, demanded compensation. Despite a panel finding that the property was fairly sold, Webhofer paid Roifer an additional 850,000 schilling
s. In 1955 Josef Webhofer's son Wilhelm Webhofer, no blood relative of Jörg Haider's but rather a "Wahlonkel" or uncle-by-choice, inherited the estate and later bequeathed it to Haider. Today the land is estimated to be worth about $15 million.
of the Austrian People's Party
and the socialist
views of the Social Democratic Party of Austria
. With its roots in the Pan-German movement, it included both German-nationalist
and liberal
political views. In 1970 Haider became the leader of the FPÖ youth movement and headed it until 1974. Haider rose rapidly through the party ranks. In 1972, at the age of 22, he was already a well-established leader and was made party affairs manager of the Carinthian FPÖ in 1976. In 1979 he was the youngest delegate among the 183 members of parliament, at age 29. From 1983 his policies became more aggressive, when he rose to party head of the Carinthian FPÖ and started to criticise the leaders of the FPÖ, which at that time was still a minor political movement in Austria, usually winning only about 5–6% of the vote.
The decisive point of his career came in 1986 when he defeated Austrian Vice Chancellor
Norbert Steger
in the vote for party leadership at the party convention in September in Innsbruck
; many delegates feared that Steger's liberal political views and his coalition with the Social Democrats threatened the party's existence.
(governor) of Carinthia.
In 1991, in a debate in the regional parliament, a Socialist leader attacked Haider's plan of reducing unemployment payments for people seen as "freeloaders", calling it forced work placement reminiscent of Nazi policies. Haider replied, "No, they didn't have that in the Third Reich, because in the Third Reich they had a proper employment policy, which not even your government in Vienna can manage to bring about."
Haider claimed that the legislators understood his comment as a criticism of the present Austrian government, but in the days that followed the SPÖ joined with the ÖVP in a vote of no confidence against him.
Haider had to resign his post as governor, the FPÖ-ÖVP coalition was replaced by an SPÖ-ÖVP coalition. Although the remark was costly both for Haider and the FPÖ, a country-wide poll reported that 42 percent of Austrians considered the press's treatment exaggerated, and 33 percent believed Haider's remarks to be based in fact.
In 1999, Haider again was elected governor of Carinthia by the Carinthian parliament, where the FPÖ now held a plurality of more than 42%. Even after the FPÖ
fell to only 10% from 27% in the national elections in 2002, Haider's support in Carinthia did not diminish and he succeeded in the 2004 elections receiving a slightly higher percentage (42.5%) than in 1999.
views. Haider relied primarily on populism (see below) to advance his interests. From 1986 when Haider became the FPÖ's chairman the party's share in elections rose from 5% in the 1986 elections to almost 27% in 1999.
With Haider practically leading the FPÖ single-handedly, he was able to unite the scattered, divided extreme-right in Austria and establish a party that was not so much founded on leading personalities or an ideology but on just one leader - Haider himself, who used to change his opinions frequently. His style of governing the party became authoritarian in the following years, however his followers did not challenge his ultimate authority in the party, especially because Haider was able to gain one victory after another in elections.
An exception was the split off by the Liberal Forum
in the mid-1990s headed by Heide Schmidt, a long-time political supporter of Haider and the FPÖ's candidate for presidency in 1992. The liberals initially gained the support of about 6% of the voters nationwide, but Schmidt was not able to uphold this support and the Liberal Forum subsequently dropped out of parliament in 1999.
The party's mixture of populism, anti-establishment and nationalist themes steadily gained support over the years. In addition to far-right voters, the FPÖ was able to attract voters from both the Social Democrats and the Conservatives in both the national and regional elections of the 1990s, mostly those who were fed up with decades of government by the 'Great Coalition' (see also: Proporz
).
against coalitions with parties considered as right-wing extremists, which had mostly held in Western Europe since 1945, had been breached. For several months, other national leaders shunned diplomatic contacts with members of the Schüssel government. Supporters of the government often blamed social democrats and President Thomas Klestil
for these sanctions, and questioned their loyalty to the country.
The EU leaders soon saw that their measures were counterproductive and returned to normality during the summer of 2000, even though the coalition remained unchanged. (See Austria legislative election, 1999.)
At the end of 2000, Jörg Haider stepped down from the leadership of the Freedom Party. This was widely regarded as a cynical move to appease foreign criticism, as he appeared to continue to control the party from behind the scenes, with Susanne Riess-Passer
who was the following party chairwoman being only pro-forma in charge. Haider proclaimed that his move was just the fulfillment of his promise to Carinthian FPÖ voters he gave prior to the election that had been held in the same year.
(Styria
), the so-called Knittelfeld Putsch
, Riess-Passer
lost the support of many party members. This meeting is also sometimes considered as a rebellion against the members which are currently involved in the government, which was thought to be started or at least supported by Haider. Thus Riess-Passer resigned as Vice Chancellor and Party Chairwoman. With her, Karl-Heinz Grasser, the finance minister, and Peter Westenthaler, the head of the Freedom Party's Parliament Club, also resigned.
This resulted in new general elections in November, which resulted in a landslide victory (42.27% of the vote) of the conservative People's Party
led by Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel
. Haider's Freedom Party, which in 1999 was slightly stronger than Schüssel's party, was reduced to 10.16% of the vote.
In response, Haider stated that he had demanded that the leader of the FPÖ must step down to allow him to be leader, and on being refused, stated that he would leave federal politics permanently.
In October 2003, in a cabinet reshuffle instigated by Haider, Haupt
stepped down as Vice Chancellor and was replaced by Hubert Gorbach
.
On 7 March 2004, the FPÖ won a plurality (42.5%) of the vote in the elections for the Carinthian parliament. On 31 March 2004, Haider was re-elected Governor of Carinthia by the FPÖ and SPÖ
members of the state parliament.
However, outside Carinthia, Haider's charisma seemed to have largely lost its appeal among voters. The FPÖ incurred devastating losses in several regional elections, the European Elections of 2004 and in elections for the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. In each of those elections, it lost between one half to two thirds of their previous voters.
announced the creation of a new party called Alliance for the Future of Austria
(Bündnis Zukunft Österreich, BZÖ) with Haider as leader. In effect, this split the FPÖ into two parties.
In the following months, the BZÖ
tried to establish itself within the Austrian political landscape, but met little success. Haider and his new party remained in the coalition with the People's party, leading to fierce fights between the FPÖ and BZÖ following the split-up. Subsequent polls showed that both parties were losing voter approval and in danger of failing to reach the critical 4% of the national vote barrier required for representation in parliament.
In the 2006 general elections, the BZÖ received 4.1% of votes, thus narrowly securing its representation of 7 seats in parliament. The FPÖ
, now led by Heinz-Christian Strache
surpassed initial expectations, receiving 11.0% of the vote, 532 votes behind the Greens
.
From June 2006 to August 2008, the BZÖ was led by Peter Westenthaler
. On 30 August 2008, shortly before the legislative election
, Haider re-assumed the party chairmanship. Subsequently, the BZÖ received 10.7% of votes, and the FPÖ 17.5% of votes.
, Haider's designated successor as party chairman, stated in an ORF
radio interview on 19 October 2008, that at the time of Haider's death he and the politician were in a relationship which "went far beyond friendship" with the full knowledge of the latter's wife. Petzner also said that "Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life ." The term Lebensmensch can imply an intimate relationship but can also be interpreted as "icon" or "mentor". Associated Press reported Petzner's comments as "Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life ... I loved him as a best friend." Haider had never denied or confirmed the rumours about his sexuality
, but he was often criticised for surrounding himself with young men in his political movement, which was nicknamed 'Haider's boys' party'.
and the Austrian People's Party
).
In a 27 September 2008 talkshow on ORF
television, Haider described the boards of directors of numerous world bank
s as "mafia
". Haider also advocated the creation of heavier punishments for bank
ing managers and proposed the creation of a special Legal Court against financial crimes, in one of his last interviews to the Austrian Kleine Zeitung
daily.
Haider supported fighting against increasing prices, and paying a minimum salary of €
1000 per month, as well as €1000 per month for mothers. He also supported reforming the Austrian social insurance system with one insurance company per profession. Until 2005 Haider was for the entry of Turkey into the European Union. Later, he urged that decisions like the treaty for the European Union, or the entrance of Turkey into the European Union should be decided by a referendum.
and sometimes made public statements seen as offensive to immigrant populations. In the early 1990s, Haider proclaimed that
Slovene ethnic-linguistic community, known as the Carinthian Slovenes
, lives. Already in the 1980s, Haider pursued a policy of segregation
in schools, insisting on physically dividing the Slovene and German-speaking pupils in elementary schools in southern Carinthia. In December 2001, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that topographic road signs in all settlements in Carinthia which have had more than 10% of Slovene-speaking inhabitants over a longer period of time, should be written both in German
and Slovene. Haider refused to carry out this decision, which has been reiterated by the Court several times thereafter, and publicly threatened to sue the president of the Constitutional Court. Instead of erecting hundreds of new bilingual signs, as ruled by the court, Haider ordered the removal of several existing ones, which triggered a wave of protest among the local Slovene minority, including acts of civil disobedience.
In May 2006, Haider personally moved the road sign of the town of Bleiburg
in south-eastern Carinthia for several meters as the response to the decision of the Constitutional Court which ruled the sign was unconstitutional because it was written only in German. He compared himself to Jesus Christ who moved the stone over his tomb, provoking indignation by the local Roman Catholic clergy. After the Court condemned his action as illegal, Haider threatened to call a regional referendum on the issue, for which he was publicly admonished by the Federal President Heinz Fischer
. The referendum was blocked by the decision of the Federal institutions which found it unconstitutional. In December 2006, Haider tried to bypass the ruling of the Constitutional Court by attaching small, barely visible, plaques with Slovene placenames to German road signs, which was again found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Haider nevertheless disregarded the Court's decision and pursued his action.
In his last speech, delivered on the celebration of the 88th anniversary of the Carinthian Plebiscite
only a few hours before his death, Haider reiterated his opposition to any kind of visual bilingualism in the region and warned the Slovene
politicians "not to play with fire".
on the eve of the 2003 Iraq War, as well as having had a friendship with Muammar Gaddafi
when Libya
was an international pariah
. According the Austrian news magazine Profil
, Haider and his party colleague Ewald Stadler
received $5 million for their services.
A confiscated diary mentions a 45 million euro transfer from Gaddafi, as well as more than 10 million euro that individuals brought home from Iraq. Some of Saddam's money was picked up by Haider's confidant from a Swiss account belonging to the dead sons of Saddam Hussein.
On several occasions Haider made remarks about Austrian World War II veterans that were represented as broad endorsement of the war and of the Nazi SS
. Speaking to a gathering of veterans from several countries in 1990, he said that the veterans were "decent people of good character" and "remain true to their convictions." Haider stated that he did not specifically address Waffen-SS
veterans with his remarks. On another occasion, he said, "the Waffen-SS was part of the Wehrmacht
(German military) and because of that it deserves every honor and recognition." In 2000, at gathering of Wehrmacht veterans in Ulrichsberg
, including Waffen-SS veterans, he said, "Those who come to Ulrichsberg are not the old Nazis. They are not neo-Nazis, they are not criminals."
Haider also compared the deportation of Jews by the Nazis to the expulsion
of Sudeten Germans
from Czechoslovakia
after World War II
. Haider's detractors also pointed to a pun
ning reference to the leader of the Jewish community of Vienna, Ariel Muzicant; Haider indicated that he did not understand how someone named Ariel (also the name of a popular laundry detergent
) could have gathered so much filth, implying the real estate agent's business methods were crooked. Haider's critics characterized the remark as antisemitic. Haider also maintained that Muzicant faked antisemitic hate letters to himself. He later withdrew this and other accusations, and apologized for his "derogatory remarks."
Haider was closely watched by Mossad
, the Israel
i secret service; FPÖ secretary general Peter Sichrovsky
- a Jewish-Austrian politician and formerly one of Haider's closest aide
s - had gathered inside information on Haider's controversial contacts with prominent "Arab
dictator
s". Due to Haider's perceived contacts to Holocaust deniers
, the Israeli Foreign Ministry on September 29, 2008 declared it was heavily concerned about the 2008 Austrian elections; a spokesman of the ministry said that Israel
i officials were "very worried about the rise to power of people who promote hatred
, Holocaust denial
, and befriend Neo-Nazis. We see it as a disturbing development and are following the matter very closely".
near Klagenfurt
, in the state of Carinthia, in the early hours of 11 October 2008. He had been on his way to celebrate his mother's 90th birthday. Police reported that the Volkswagen Phaeton
that Haider had been driving came off the road, rolled down an embankment and overturned, causing him "severe head and chest injuries". Haider, who was on his way from Stadtkraemer, a gay bar
in Klagenfurt, where he had been drinking and had been meeting a young man after having previously quarreled with Stefan Petzner
that same evening. He was alone in the government car and no other vehicles were involved. At the time of the crash, Haider's car was travelling at 142 km/h (88 mph) or faster, more than twice the legal speed limit of 70 km/h (43 mph) for that part of the Loiblpass-road. An initial investigation uncovered no signs of foul play, and conspiracy theories about the death have been strongly rejected by the Austrian police. Haider's widow denies that her husband was gay, and questions the official account of the accident. Haider's blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was 1.8 mg/L, more than three times the legal limit of 0.5 mg/L. This fact was noted by both Haider's spokesman and the state prosecutor. The director general of the Carinthian administration declared that in case the Governor had been intoxicated the State would have the right to recourse.
Austrian President
Heinz Fischer
said of Haider's death that it was a "human tragedy". Reactions in the press were mixed. Wolfgang Fellner, publisher of "Österreich", wrote: "I have fought bitterly" with Jörg Haider, but "finally, Haider became a gentle, considerate, almost wise politician ... Alas, he was once again too fast." Haider "died as he lived: always full of gas, always over the limit", Fellner concluded. But Ernst Trost pointed out in the Kronen Zeitung that while Haider had enjoyed a "comet-like rise" in politics, he also had "ever again embarked on self-destructive actions and provoked opposition." The Chief Editor of Kurier
, Christoph Kotanko, wrote that "however much his brown tones, xenophobia and aggressive populism were to be rejected ... Haider's criticism of the dominant conditions of the 1980s and 90s was partly also justified", and he had "named, fought and in part also changed" those conditions.
On 25 January 2009, the Lippitzbachbrücke was renamed to "Jörg-Haider-Brücke".
In 2009, the consequences of Haider's financial policies became apparent when the Bavarian-Carinthian Hypo-Alpe-Adria Bank
got into heavy difficulties, later leading to the bank's nationalization. Swiss paper Tagesanzeiger wrote about "Haider's money destruction machine". Carinthia
now has the highest per-capita debt in Austria
.
to court for publishing interviews with a man claiming to have been Jörg Haider's lover for many years. In October 2009, an Austrian court ruled it illegal for media to call Jörg Haider a homosexual because it would be "breach of personal and privacy rights." In its ruling the court threatened a fine of up to €100,000 for anybody "who claims and/or distributes the claim, that Jörg Haider was a homosexual and/ or bisexual and/or that he has had a lover." The court also issued preliminary injunctions against Bild Zeitung, the Austrian paper Österreich and the Austrian magazine News.
According to a confiscated black booklet handwritten by Walter Meischberger, a former Freedom Party politician, Austrian authorities said they would examine a diary that allegedly detailed money transfers from Saddam and Gaddafi. The diary reportedly mentions a $58.7m transfer from Gaddafi, as well as more than $13.3m that unidentified individuals brought back from Iraq. It also references an anonymous confidant who supposedly brought a suitcase filled with $6.6m from Switzerland to Munich
for investment purposes; the money was supposed to have come from a Swiss account belonging to the deceased Uday Hussein
and Qusay Hussein
.
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
politician. He was Governor of Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
The Alliance for the Future of Austria , abbreviated to BZÖ, is a conservative liberal political party in Austria. The party has sixteen seats in the National Council....
(Bündnis Zukunft Österreich, BZÖ), a breakaway party from the FPÖ.
Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments that were widely condemned as praising Nazi policies or as xenophobic or anti-Semitic. Several countries imposed mild diplomatic sanctions against his party's participation in government alongside Wolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007...
s ÖVP
OVP
OVP is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:*The Office of the Vice President of the United States*The Office of the Vice President of the Philippines*OVP , a light sub-machine gun developed in Italy...
, starting from 2000.
Haider died in a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
shortly after leading the BZÖ in the Austrian Parliamentary elections
Austrian legislative election, 2008
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008...
.
Parents
Haider's parents had been early members of the Nazi Party (NSDAP, German National Socialist Workers' PartyAustrian National Socialism
Austrian National Socialism was a Pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on November 15, 1903 when the German Worker's Party was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig...
, the Austrian affiliate of the German NSDAP). They were from different backgrounds. Haider's father, Robert Haider, was a shoemaker. His mother, Dorothea Rupp, was the daughter of a well-to-do physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and head of the gynaecology
Gynaecology
Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...
ward at the general hospital of Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
.
Robert Haider joined the DNSAP in 1929 as a fifteen year-old boy, four years before Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
came to power in Germany. He remained a member even after the Nazi Party was banned in Austria and after Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
had dissolved the Austrian parliament and established a Ständestaat
Austrofascism
Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used by historians to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria with the May Constitution of 1934, which ceased with the forcible incorporation of the newly-founded Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938...
, a fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
. In 1933, Haider senior moved to Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
but returned to Austria the following year after the failed Nazi attempt to overthrow the Austrian government. He was arrested and chose to move back to Germany where he joined the Austrian Legion, a division of the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
.
Haider senior completed a two-year military service in Germany and returned to Austria in 1938 after it was annexed
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
by Nazi Germany (the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
). From 1940, he fought as a junior officer on the Western and Eastern Fronts in Europe during the Second World War. Having been wounded several times, he was discharged from the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
with the rank of lieutenant. In 1945, he married Dorothea Rupp, at that time a leader in the Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM).
Following the end of the war, Haider's parents were investigated as part of the denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
process, conducted to determine what measures should be taken against them because of their NSDAP membership (proceedings against all former Nazis—NSDAP members and collaborators—were undertaken as a matter of law in both Austria and Germany after the war ended). They were labelled as "Minderbelastet" (meaning "compromised to a lesser degree", i.e. low-ranking in the NSDAP structure). Robert Haider found a job in a shoe factory. Dorothea Haider, who had been a teacher, was prohibited from teaching for a few years following the end of the war. Robert was forced to dig graves, which their son recalled as a "brutal injustice." Haider's mother eventually outlived him, turning ninety on the day he died.
Youth
Haider was born in the Upper AustriaUpper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
n town of Bad Goisern
Bad Goisern
Bad Goisern is a market town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It is part of the Salzkammergut resort area. At the 2005 census Bad Goisern had a population of 7.578 inhabitants.- History :...
in 1950, a time when his parents' finances were rather moderate, and his elder sister, later Ursula Haubner
Ursula Haubner
Ursula Haubner is an Austrian politician of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , formerly of the Austrian Freedom Party . Haubner is married with two daughters and five grandchildren...
, five years old. He was a good student in primary school and attended high school in Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden Ahorn, Bad Ischl, Haiden, Jainzen, Kaltenbach, Lauffen, Lindau, Pfandl, Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach...
despite his parents' financial situation. Haider was reportedly always top of his class in high school. During his time in Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden Ahorn, Bad Ischl, Haiden, Jainzen, Kaltenbach, Lauffen, Lindau, Pfandl, Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach...
he had first contacts with nationalist organizations, such as the Burschenschaft
Burschenschaft
German Burschenschaften are a special type of Studentenverbindungen . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas.-History:-Beginnings 1815–c...
Albia, a right-wing student group.
After he graduated with highest distinction in 1968, he moved to Vienna to study law. During his studies he was affiliated again with a Burschenschaft: Silvania. After graduating from the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
with the title of Dr. iur.
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
in 1973 he was drafted into the Austrian Army where he voluntarily spent more than the mandatory nine months (called 'the voluntary one year'). In 1974 he started to work at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
law faculty in the department of constitutional law.
Bärental estate
Media in Austria
-General:German magazines and TV stations have affected the development of Austria since their foundation. Because German TV stations broadcast by satellite, it is possible to receive them throughout Austria as well.-Broadsheet:...
. The land had been owned by an Italian Jew until 1941. At that point in time the Nazis still hesitated to take possession of property owned by non-German Jews without any compensation. Inside Italy Jewish property was not yet open for confiscation and the Mussolini government was not inclined to allow this happen to Jewish nationals abroad either. Thus when the estate was sold in 1941, one Josef Webhofer (a former resident of South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, Italy, and an Optant) paid 300,000 Reichsmark
German reichsmark
The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
(about $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.5 million today) to obtain title to the land. After the war Mathilde Roifer, the widow of the former Jewish owner of Bärental, demanded compensation. Despite a panel finding that the property was fairly sold, Webhofer paid Roifer an additional 850,000 schilling
Austrian schilling
The schilling was the currency of Austria from 1924 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1999, and the circulating currency until 2002. The euro was introduced at a fixed parity of €1 = 13.7603 schilling to replace it...
s. In 1955 Josef Webhofer's son Wilhelm Webhofer, no blood relative of Jörg Haider's but rather a "Wahlonkel" or uncle-by-choice, inherited the estate and later bequeathed it to Haider. Today the land is estimated to be worth about $15 million.
Rise to power in the FPÖ
The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) was founded in 1955, and initially was a mixture of various political currents opposed both to the political CatholicismPolitical Catholicism
Political catholicism is a political and cultural conception which promotes the ideas and social teaching of the Catholic Church in public life...
of the Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
and the socialist
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
views of the Social Democratic Party of Austria
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
. With its roots in the Pan-German movement, it included both German-nationalist
German nationalism in Austria
German nationalism is a political ideology and a current in Austrian politics. It has its origins in the German National Movement of the 19th century, a nationalist movement of the German-speaking population in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and had striven for a closer connection of the...
and liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
political views. In 1970 Haider became the leader of the FPÖ youth movement and headed it until 1974. Haider rose rapidly through the party ranks. In 1972, at the age of 22, he was already a well-established leader and was made party affairs manager of the Carinthian FPÖ in 1976. In 1979 he was the youngest delegate among the 183 members of parliament, at age 29. From 1983 his policies became more aggressive, when he rose to party head of the Carinthian FPÖ and started to criticise the leaders of the FPÖ, which at that time was still a minor political movement in Austria, usually winning only about 5–6% of the vote.
The decisive point of his career came in 1986 when he defeated Austrian Vice Chancellor
Vice Chancellor of Austria
In Austrian politics, the Vice-Chancellor is a member of the federal government acting as a deputy to the Federal Chancellor.Art. 69 of the Constitution of Austria states:...
Norbert Steger
Norbert Steger
Norbert Steger is an Austrian lawyer and former politician for the Freedom Party of Austria . He was the FPÖ party leader from 1980 to 1986, and Vice Chancellor and Minister of Commerce of Austria from 1983 to 1987....
in the vote for party leadership at the party convention in September in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
; many delegates feared that Steger's liberal political views and his coalition with the Social Democrats threatened the party's existence.
Political struggle in Carinthia
Until 1989, the socialist/Social-Democratic party SPÖ held an absolute majority in the Austrian province of Carinthia; when it received less than 50% of seats in 1989, ÖVP and FPÖ formed a coalition and elected Haider as LandeshauptmannLandeshauptmann
Landeshauptmann is a former German gubernatorial title equivalent to that of a governor of a province or a state....
(governor) of Carinthia.
In 1991, in a debate in the regional parliament, a Socialist leader attacked Haider's plan of reducing unemployment payments for people seen as "freeloaders", calling it forced work placement reminiscent of Nazi policies. Haider replied, "No, they didn't have that in the Third Reich, because in the Third Reich they had a proper employment policy, which not even your government in Vienna can manage to bring about."
Haider claimed that the legislators understood his comment as a criticism of the present Austrian government, but in the days that followed the SPÖ joined with the ÖVP in a vote of no confidence against him.
Haider had to resign his post as governor, the FPÖ-ÖVP coalition was replaced by an SPÖ-ÖVP coalition. Although the remark was costly both for Haider and the FPÖ, a country-wide poll reported that 42 percent of Austrians considered the press's treatment exaggerated, and 33 percent believed Haider's remarks to be based in fact.
In 1999, Haider again was elected governor of Carinthia by the Carinthian parliament, where the FPÖ now held a plurality of more than 42%. Even after the FPÖ
FPO
FPO may refer to:*Fleet Post Office, a "city" designation in military mail *Field post office, a term for military post offices in military mail systems *For position only, a designation for placeholder graphics...
fell to only 10% from 27% in the national elections in 2002, Haider's support in Carinthia did not diminish and he succeeded in the 2004 elections receiving a slightly higher percentage (42.5%) than in 1999.
Haider as opposition leader
Under Haider's leadership, the FPÖ moved to the right, reflecting Haider's nationalist, anti-immigration, and anti-EUEuroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
views. Haider relied primarily on populism (see below) to advance his interests. From 1986 when Haider became the FPÖ's chairman the party's share in elections rose from 5% in the 1986 elections to almost 27% in 1999.
With Haider practically leading the FPÖ single-handedly, he was able to unite the scattered, divided extreme-right in Austria and establish a party that was not so much founded on leading personalities or an ideology but on just one leader - Haider himself, who used to change his opinions frequently. His style of governing the party became authoritarian in the following years, however his followers did not challenge his ultimate authority in the party, especially because Haider was able to gain one victory after another in elections.
An exception was the split off by the Liberal Forum
Liberal Forum
The Liberal Forum is a small classical liberal party in Austria. The party is currently led by Angelika Mlinar, and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.-Founding:...
in the mid-1990s headed by Heide Schmidt, a long-time political supporter of Haider and the FPÖ's candidate for presidency in 1992. The liberals initially gained the support of about 6% of the voters nationwide, but Schmidt was not able to uphold this support and the Liberal Forum subsequently dropped out of parliament in 1999.
The party's mixture of populism, anti-establishment and nationalist themes steadily gained support over the years. In addition to far-right voters, the FPÖ was able to attract voters from both the Social Democrats and the Conservatives in both the national and regional elections of the 1990s, mostly those who were fed up with decades of government by the 'Great Coalition' (see also: Proporz
Proporz
Proporz is a long standing doctrine within the politics of the second Austrian republic. However, recent developments, both internal and external, have arguably weakened the influence of the Proporz system in Austrian politics.- The underlying principle :...
).
Coalition government with Wolfgang Schüssel's People's party
In 2000, Haider's Freedom Party and the People's Party formed a coalition government. This caused widespread outrage both in Austria and the rest of Europe. The heads of government of the other fourteen EU members decided to cease cooperation with the Austrian government, as it was felt in many countries that the cordon sanitaireCordon sanitaire
Cordon sanitaire — or quarantine line — is a French phrase that, literally translated, means "sanitary cordon". Though in French it originally denoted a barrier implemented to stop the spread of disease, it has often been used in English in a metaphorical sense to refer to attempts to prevent the...
against coalitions with parties considered as right-wing extremists, which had mostly held in Western Europe since 1945, had been breached. For several months, other national leaders shunned diplomatic contacts with members of the Schüssel government. Supporters of the government often blamed social democrats and President Thomas Klestil
Thomas Klestil
Thomas Klestil was an Austrian diplomat and politician. He was elected the tenth President of Austria in 1992 and was re-elected to the position in 1998...
for these sanctions, and questioned their loyalty to the country.
The EU leaders soon saw that their measures were counterproductive and returned to normality during the summer of 2000, even though the coalition remained unchanged. (See Austria legislative election, 1999.)
At the end of 2000, Jörg Haider stepped down from the leadership of the Freedom Party. This was widely regarded as a cynical move to appease foreign criticism, as he appeared to continue to control the party from behind the scenes, with Susanne Riess-Passer
Susanne Riess-Passer
Susanne Riess-Passer is a former Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria .In the first government headed by Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, which was inaugurated in 2000, she became Vice Chancellor and minister of public services and sports, representing her party in the coalition with...
who was the following party chairwoman being only pro-forma in charge. Haider proclaimed that his move was just the fulfillment of his promise to Carinthian FPÖ voters he gave prior to the election that had been held in the same year.
Collapse of the (first) coalition and decline of the Freedom Party
In September 2002, after a special party convention ("Sonderparteitag") in KnittelfeldKnittelfeld
Knittelfeld is a city in Styria, Austria, located on the banks of the Mur river.The name of the town has become notorious for the Knittelfeld Putsch of September 7, 2002, a party meeting of the Freedom Party of Austria, which resulted in the 2002 Austrian elections.-External links:* *...
(Styria
Styria (state)
Styria is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. In area it is the second largest of the nine Austrian federated states, covering 16,401 km². It borders Slovenia as well as the other Austrian states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, and Carinthia. ...
), the so-called Knittelfeld Putsch
Knittelfeld Putsch
Knittelfeld Putsch refers to a conference of the Freedom Party of Austria which took place on 7 September 2002 in the small Austrian town of Knittelfeld, Styria, called due to political differences within the party leadership...
, Riess-Passer
Susanne Riess-Passer
Susanne Riess-Passer is a former Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria .In the first government headed by Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, which was inaugurated in 2000, she became Vice Chancellor and minister of public services and sports, representing her party in the coalition with...
lost the support of many party members. This meeting is also sometimes considered as a rebellion against the members which are currently involved in the government, which was thought to be started or at least supported by Haider. Thus Riess-Passer resigned as Vice Chancellor and Party Chairwoman. With her, Karl-Heinz Grasser, the finance minister, and Peter Westenthaler, the head of the Freedom Party's Parliament Club, also resigned.
This resulted in new general elections in November, which resulted in a landslide victory (42.27% of the vote) of the conservative People's Party
OVP
OVP is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:*The Office of the Vice President of the United States*The Office of the Vice President of the Philippines*OVP , a light sub-machine gun developed in Italy...
led by Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel
Wolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007...
. Haider's Freedom Party, which in 1999 was slightly stronger than Schüssel's party, was reduced to 10.16% of the vote.
In response, Haider stated that he had demanded that the leader of the FPÖ must step down to allow him to be leader, and on being refused, stated that he would leave federal politics permanently.
In October 2003, in a cabinet reshuffle instigated by Haider, Haupt
Herbert Haupt
----Herbert Haupt is an Austrian politician and former party chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party. Born in Seeboden, Carinthia, and a veterinarian by training, he was federal Minister of Social Services from 2000 till 2005 in a coalition government headed by Wolfgang Schüssel...
stepped down as Vice Chancellor and was replaced by Hubert Gorbach
Hubert Gorbach
Hubert Gorbach is an Austrian politician and a member of the Alliance for the Future of Austria . Until April 2005, he was a leading member in the Freedom Party. Born in Vorarlberg, he was vice-governor of Vorarlberg until 2003.In 2003, he succeeded Herbert Haupt as Vice-Chancellor of Austria...
.
On 7 March 2004, the FPÖ won a plurality (42.5%) of the vote in the elections for the Carinthian parliament. On 31 March 2004, Haider was re-elected Governor of Carinthia by the FPÖ and SPÖ
SPO
- Technology :SPO: Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Cloud Computing, Office 365. See Microsoft Online Services-Economics:* Secondary Public Offering, an equity capital market instrument...
members of the state parliament.
However, outside Carinthia, Haider's charisma seemed to have largely lost its appeal among voters. The FPÖ incurred devastating losses in several regional elections, the European Elections of 2004 and in elections for the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. In each of those elections, it lost between one half to two thirds of their previous voters.
Creation of a new party
As a consequence, the FPÖ, whose chair was Haider's sister, Ursula Haubner, was riven with internal strife. On 4 April 2005, Haider, Haubner, Vice Chancellor Hubert Gorbach and other leading figures of the FPÖFPO
FPO may refer to:*Fleet Post Office, a "city" designation in military mail *Field post office, a term for military post offices in military mail systems *For position only, a designation for placeholder graphics...
announced the creation of a new party called Alliance for the Future of Austria
Alliance for the Future of Austria
The Alliance for the Future of Austria , abbreviated to BZÖ, is a conservative liberal political party in Austria. The party has sixteen seats in the National Council....
(Bündnis Zukunft Österreich, BZÖ) with Haider as leader. In effect, this split the FPÖ into two parties.
In the following months, the BZÖ
BZO
BZO can mean:* Bolzano Airport, with IATA code BZO* Alliance for the Future of Austria, abbreviated BZÖ...
tried to establish itself within the Austrian political landscape, but met little success. Haider and his new party remained in the coalition with the People's party, leading to fierce fights between the FPÖ and BZÖ following the split-up. Subsequent polls showed that both parties were losing voter approval and in danger of failing to reach the critical 4% of the national vote barrier required for representation in parliament.
In the 2006 general elections, the BZÖ received 4.1% of votes, thus narrowly securing its representation of 7 seats in parliament. The FPÖ
FPO
FPO may refer to:*Fleet Post Office, a "city" designation in military mail *Field post office, a term for military post offices in military mail systems *For position only, a designation for placeholder graphics...
, now led by Heinz-Christian Strache
Heinz-Christian Strache
Heinz-Christian Strache is an Austrian politician, member of parliament, former member of the Vienna city council and political leader of the Freedom Party of Austria . He is a right-wing politician and an efficient populist...
surpassed initial expectations, receiving 11.0% of the vote, 532 votes behind the Greens
Austrian Green Party
The Greens – The Green Alternative is a political party in the Austrian parliament.The party was formed in 1986 with the name Grüne Alternative, following the merger of the more conservative Green party Vereinte Grüne Österreichs and the more progressive party Alternative Liste Österreichs The...
.
From June 2006 to August 2008, the BZÖ was led by Peter Westenthaler
Peter Westenthaler
Peter Westenthaler is an Austrian politician. He assumed his mother's maiden name Westenthaler instead of his former surname Hojač...
. On 30 August 2008, shortly before the legislative election
Austrian legislative election, 2008
A legislative snap election for the National Council in Austria was held on 28 September 2008. The previous election was held on 1 October 2006. The election was caused by the withdrawal of Austrian People's Party leader Wilhelm Molterer from the governing grand coalition on 7 July 2008...
, Haider re-assumed the party chairmanship. Subsequently, the BZÖ received 10.7% of votes, and the FPÖ 17.5% of votes.
Stefan Petzner
Stefan PetznerStefan Petzner
Stefan Petzner is an Austrian politician. He is a member of the economical right Alliance for the Future of Austria ...
, Haider's designated successor as party chairman, stated in an ORF
ORF (broadcaster)
Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media...
radio interview on 19 October 2008, that at the time of Haider's death he and the politician were in a relationship which "went far beyond friendship" with the full knowledge of the latter's wife. Petzner also said that "Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life ." The term Lebensmensch can imply an intimate relationship but can also be interpreted as "icon" or "mentor". Associated Press reported Petzner's comments as "Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life ... I loved him as a best friend." Haider had never denied or confirmed the rumours about his sexuality
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, but he was often criticised for surrounding himself with young men in his political movement, which was nicknamed 'Haider's boys' party'.
Political views
Since beginning his political career in the 1970s, Haider was critical of mainstream Austrian politics. He used simple slogans to raise his popularity by using issues he saw that the general public perceived as unjust or the self-interest of big party politics (specifically the Austrian Social DemocratsSPO
- Technology :SPO: Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Cloud Computing, Office 365. See Microsoft Online Services-Economics:* Secondary Public Offering, an equity capital market instrument...
and the Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
).
In a 27 September 2008 talkshow on ORF
ORF (broadcaster)
Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media...
television, Haider described the boards of directors of numerous world bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s as "mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
". Haider also advocated the creation of heavier punishments for bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
ing managers and proposed the creation of a special Legal Court against financial crimes, in one of his last interviews to the Austrian Kleine Zeitung
Kleine Zeitung
Kleine Zeitung is an Austrian newspaper based in Graz, Styria. It was founded in 1904 by the Katholischen Pressverein. The first issue was published on Tuesday, November 22, 1904. It was designed from the start as a paper to be read by the masses, covering general news topics and being very cheap...
daily.
Haider supported fighting against increasing prices, and paying a minimum salary of €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1000 per month, as well as €1000 per month for mothers. He also supported reforming the Austrian social insurance system with one insurance company per profession. Until 2005 Haider was for the entry of Turkey into the European Union. Later, he urged that decisions like the treaty for the European Union, or the entrance of Turkey into the European Union should be decided by a referendum.
Immigration
Throughout his career, Haider vigorously opposed immigrationOpposition to immigration
Opposition to immigration is present in most nation-states with immigration, and has become a significant political issue in many countries. Immigration in the modern sense refers to movement of people from one nation-state to another, where they are not citizens. It is important to distinguish...
and sometimes made public statements seen as offensive to immigrant populations. In the early 1990s, Haider proclaimed that
"The social order of IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is opposed to our Western values. Human rights and democracy are as incompatible with the Muslim religious doctrine as is the equality of women. In Islam, the individual and his free will count for nothing; faith and religious struggle – jihadJihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
, the holy war – for everything."
Language policy
One of Haider's main political struggles was the one against bilingualism in southern Carinthia, where an autochthonousIndigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
Slovene ethnic-linguistic community, known as the Carinthian Slovenes
Carinthian Slovenes
Carinthian Slovenes are the Slovene-speaking population group in the Austrian State of Carinthia. The Carinthian Slovenes send representatives to the National Ethnic Groups Advisory Council...
, lives. Already in the 1980s, Haider pursued a policy of segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
in schools, insisting on physically dividing the Slovene and German-speaking pupils in elementary schools in southern Carinthia. In December 2001, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that topographic road signs in all settlements in Carinthia which have had more than 10% of Slovene-speaking inhabitants over a longer period of time, should be written both in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Slovene. Haider refused to carry out this decision, which has been reiterated by the Court several times thereafter, and publicly threatened to sue the president of the Constitutional Court. Instead of erecting hundreds of new bilingual signs, as ruled by the court, Haider ordered the removal of several existing ones, which triggered a wave of protest among the local Slovene minority, including acts of civil disobedience.
In May 2006, Haider personally moved the road sign of the town of Bleiburg
Bleiburg
Bleiburg is a small town in the south Austrian state of Carinthia , south-east of Klagenfurt , in the district of Völkermarkt, some four kilometres from the border with Slovenia....
in south-eastern Carinthia for several meters as the response to the decision of the Constitutional Court which ruled the sign was unconstitutional because it was written only in German. He compared himself to Jesus Christ who moved the stone over his tomb, provoking indignation by the local Roman Catholic clergy. After the Court condemned his action as illegal, Haider threatened to call a regional referendum on the issue, for which he was publicly admonished by the Federal President Heinz Fischer
Heinz Fischer
Heinz Fischer GColIH is the President of Austria. He took office on 8 July 2004 and was re-elected for a second and last term on 25 April 2010. Before he took office, Fischer was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria...
. The referendum was blocked by the decision of the Federal institutions which found it unconstitutional. In December 2006, Haider tried to bypass the ruling of the Constitutional Court by attaching small, barely visible, plaques with Slovene placenames to German road signs, which was again found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Haider nevertheless disregarded the Court's decision and pursued his action.
In his last speech, delivered on the celebration of the 88th anniversary of the Carinthian Plebiscite
Carinthian Plebiscite
The Carinthian Plebiscite on 10 October 1920 determined the final southern border between the Republic of Austria and the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes after World War I.- History :...
only a few hours before his death, Haider reiterated his opposition to any kind of visual bilingualism in the region and warned the Slovene
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
politicians "not to play with fire".
Support from Muammar al-Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein
Haider was also known to have visited Iraq to meet Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
on the eve of the 2003 Iraq War, as well as having had a friendship with Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
when Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
was an international pariah
Pariah
Pariah may refer to:* A member of the Paraiyar caste in Indian society* Pariah state, a country whose behavior is out of line with international norms-Science and mathematics:* Pariah dog, a type of semi-feral dog...
. According the Austrian news magazine Profil
Profil (magazine)
profil is an Austrian news magazine. It was founded in 1970 by Oscar Bronner, who also founded the magazine Trend and the daily newspaper Der Standard....
, Haider and his party colleague Ewald Stadler
Ewald Stadler
Ewald Johann Stadler , is an Austrian politician. Previously a member of the Freedom Party of Austria , he left the FPÖ in 2007, switched to the Alliance for the Future of Austria and ran for the European Parliament in 2009 as its leading candidate...
received $5 million for their services.
A confiscated diary mentions a 45 million euro transfer from Gaddafi, as well as more than 10 million euro that individuals brought home from Iraq. Some of Saddam's money was picked up by Haider's confidant from a Swiss account belonging to the dead sons of Saddam Hussein.
Allegations of Nazi sympathies and anti-semitism
Haider was frequently criticized for statements in praise of Nazi policies, or considered antisemitic. International reports on Haider often referred to his remark that the Nazi government had produced a "proper employment policy" as compared to the SPÖ government. He was forced to resign as governor of the Carinthia province in 1991 because of the incident. Haider years later apologized. On one occasion during a parliamentary debate, Haider described World War II concentration camps as "punishment camps."On several occasions Haider made remarks about Austrian World War II veterans that were represented as broad endorsement of the war and of the Nazi SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
. Speaking to a gathering of veterans from several countries in 1990, he said that the veterans were "decent people of good character" and "remain true to their convictions." Haider stated that he did not specifically address Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
veterans with his remarks. On another occasion, he said, "the Waffen-SS was part of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
(German military) and because of that it deserves every honor and recognition." In 2000, at gathering of Wehrmacht veterans in Ulrichsberg
Ulrichsberg
Ulrichsberg is a municipality in the district of Rohrbach in Upper Austria, Austria.-Geography: Ulrichsberg lies in Mühlviertel in Upper Austria near the Bohemian Forest and along the Große Mühl river . It covers an area of 12.2 km north to south and 10.3 km east to west for a total area...
, including Waffen-SS veterans, he said, "Those who come to Ulrichsberg are not the old Nazis. They are not neo-Nazis, they are not criminals."
Haider also compared the deportation of Jews by the Nazis to the expulsion
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
of Sudeten Germans
Sudeten Germans
- Importance of Sudeten Germans :Czechoslovakia was inhabited by over 3 million ethnic Germans, comprising about 23 percent of the population of the republic and about 29.5% of Bohemia and Moravia....
from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Haider's detractors also pointed to a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
ning reference to the leader of the Jewish community of Vienna, Ariel Muzicant; Haider indicated that he did not understand how someone named Ariel (also the name of a popular laundry detergent
Ariel (laundry)
Ariel is a marketing line of laundry detergents made by Procter & Gamble. It is the flagship brand in Procter & Gamble's European, Mexican, Japanese, Brazilian, Peruvian, Turkish, Filipino, Colombian and Venezuelan portfolios. In some U.S. stores, Mexican Ariel is available.Ariel first appeared on...
) could have gathered so much filth, implying the real estate agent's business methods were crooked. Haider's critics characterized the remark as antisemitic. Haider also maintained that Muzicant faked antisemitic hate letters to himself. He later withdrew this and other accusations, and apologized for his "derogatory remarks."
Haider was closely watched by Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
, the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i secret service; FPÖ secretary general Peter Sichrovsky
Peter Sichrovsky
Peter Sichrovsky is an Austrian journalist, writer, former politician and Member of the European Parliament. He belonged to the Freedom Party of Austria during his two terms in the European Parliament, although he was officially non-attached.- Early life :Peter Sichrovsky was born in Vienna, Austria...
- a Jewish-Austrian politician and formerly one of Haider's closest aide
Aide
Aide may refer to:* A person who assists another; an assistant. In military contexts; an officer who acts as assistant to a more senior one; an aide-de-camp.* Aide , a purported Basque deity....
s - had gathered inside information on Haider's controversial contacts with prominent "Arab
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
s". Due to Haider's perceived contacts to Holocaust deniers
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
, the Israeli Foreign Ministry on September 29, 2008 declared it was heavily concerned about the 2008 Austrian elections; a spokesman of the ministry said that Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i officials were "very worried about the rise to power of people who promote hatred
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
, and befriend Neo-Nazis. We see it as a disturbing development and are following the matter very closely".
Death and aftermath
Haider died of injuries from a car crash at Lambichl in KöttmannsdorfKöttmannsdorf
Köttmannsdorf is a town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in Austria.According to the 2001 census 6.4% of the population are Carinthian Slovenes.-References:...
near Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, in the state of Carinthia, in the early hours of 11 October 2008. He had been on his way to celebrate his mother's 90th birthday. Police reported that the Volkswagen Phaeton
Volkswagen Phaeton
The Volkswagen Phaeton is a full-size luxury sedan/saloon manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen, and is described by Volkswagen as their "premium class" vehicle...
that Haider had been driving came off the road, rolled down an embankment and overturned, causing him "severe head and chest injuries". Haider, who was on his way from Stadtkraemer, a gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
in Klagenfurt, where he had been drinking and had been meeting a young man after having previously quarreled with Stefan Petzner
Stefan Petzner
Stefan Petzner is an Austrian politician. He is a member of the economical right Alliance for the Future of Austria ...
that same evening. He was alone in the government car and no other vehicles were involved. At the time of the crash, Haider's car was travelling at 142 km/h (88 mph) or faster, more than twice the legal speed limit of 70 km/h (43 mph) for that part of the Loiblpass-road. An initial investigation uncovered no signs of foul play, and conspiracy theories about the death have been strongly rejected by the Austrian police. Haider's widow denies that her husband was gay, and questions the official account of the accident. Haider's blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was 1.8 mg/L, more than three times the legal limit of 0.5 mg/L. This fact was noted by both Haider's spokesman and the state prosecutor. The director general of the Carinthian administration declared that in case the Governor had been intoxicated the State would have the right to recourse.
Austrian President
President of Austria
The President of Austria is the federal head of state of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the constitution, in practice the President acts, for the most part, merely as a ceremonial figurehead...
Heinz Fischer
Heinz Fischer
Heinz Fischer GColIH is the President of Austria. He took office on 8 July 2004 and was re-elected for a second and last term on 25 April 2010. Before he took office, Fischer was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria...
said of Haider's death that it was a "human tragedy". Reactions in the press were mixed. Wolfgang Fellner, publisher of "Österreich", wrote: "I have fought bitterly" with Jörg Haider, but "finally, Haider became a gentle, considerate, almost wise politician ... Alas, he was once again too fast." Haider "died as he lived: always full of gas, always over the limit", Fellner concluded. But Ernst Trost pointed out in the Kronen Zeitung that while Haider had enjoyed a "comet-like rise" in politics, he also had "ever again embarked on self-destructive actions and provoked opposition." The Chief Editor of Kurier
Kurier
The Kurier is an Austrian newspaper based in Vienna....
, Christoph Kotanko, wrote that "however much his brown tones, xenophobia and aggressive populism were to be rejected ... Haider's criticism of the dominant conditions of the 1980s and 90s was partly also justified", and he had "named, fought and in part also changed" those conditions.
On 25 January 2009, the Lippitzbachbrücke was renamed to "Jörg-Haider-Brücke".
In 2009, the consequences of Haider's financial policies became apparent when the Bavarian-Carinthian Hypo-Alpe-Adria Bank
Hypo-Alpe-Adria Bank
The Hypo Group Alpe Adria is an Austrian banking group with numerous cross-border activities in eight countries of the Alps-Adriatic region...
got into heavy difficulties, later leading to the bank's nationalization. Swiss paper Tagesanzeiger wrote about "Haider's money destruction machine". Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
now has the highest per-capita debt in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Posthumous controversies
Haider's widow, Claudia, took the German newspaper Bild-ZeitungBild-Zeitung
The Bild is a German tabloid published by Axel Springer AG. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday, while on Sundays, Bild am Sonntag is published instead, which has a different style and its own editors...
to court for publishing interviews with a man claiming to have been Jörg Haider's lover for many years. In October 2009, an Austrian court ruled it illegal for media to call Jörg Haider a homosexual because it would be "breach of personal and privacy rights." In its ruling the court threatened a fine of up to €100,000 for anybody "who claims and/or distributes the claim, that Jörg Haider was a homosexual and/ or bisexual and/or that he has had a lover." The court also issued preliminary injunctions against Bild Zeitung, the Austrian paper Österreich and the Austrian magazine News.
According to a confiscated black booklet handwritten by Walter Meischberger, a former Freedom Party politician, Austrian authorities said they would examine a diary that allegedly detailed money transfers from Saddam and Gaddafi. The diary reportedly mentions a $58.7m transfer from Gaddafi, as well as more than $13.3m that unidentified individuals brought back from Iraq. It also references an anonymous confidant who supposedly brought a suitcase filled with $6.6m from Switzerland to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
for investment purposes; the money was supposed to have come from a Swiss account belonging to the deceased Uday Hussein
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...
and Qusay Hussein
Qusay Hussein
Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.- Family :...
.
Further reading
- Goldmann, Harald & Hannes Krall & Klaus Ottomeyer. Jörg Haider und sein Publikum: eine sozialpsychologische Untersuchung. Klagenfurt: Drava, 1992.
- Haider, Jörg. Die Freiheit, die ich meine. Frankfurt/Main: Ullstein, 1993.
- Höbelt, Lothar. Jörg Haider and the politics of Austria, 1986-2000. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press, 2002.
- Tributsch, Gudmund (ed.). Schlagwort Haider: ein politisches Lexikon seiner Aussprüche von 1986 bis heute mit einem Essay von Franz Januschek. Published: Wien: Falter, 1994.
- Wodak, Ruth & Anton Pelinka. The Haider phenomenon in Austria. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 2002.
External links
- Dr. Jörg Haider at the Austrian Parliament website