A Right Mess!

He says all the wrong things--then he says all the right things. He is merely a brash, bungee-jumping populist politician--or he is a racist and an apologist for aspects of Nazism. He could play Clint Eastwood's role in a remake of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--or he is just plain bad. What is certain about the jabs and feints of 50-year-old Jrg Haider's right-wing ideology is that last week it brought him and his Freedom Party into coalition government in Austria--and left the 14 other member countries of the European Union in a state of impotent indignation. As Haider and Wolfgang Schssel, leader of the conservative People's Party, signed their deal--despite the misgivings of Austrian President Thomas Klestil--the score was Demagoguery 1, Diplomacy 0.

All the E.U. leaders' joint cajoling, then heavy threats, to try to keep Haider from power had failed--even with the U.S. and Israel, in rare forays into European domestic politics, adding their weight. By week's end, some observers felt they had merely served to reinforce the 27% of the votes Haider's party won in Austria's elections last October. Anneliese Rohrer, domestic affairs editor of the Vienna daily Die Presse, said: "Austrians do not like to be kicked around. They are saying, 'Well, if they all hate him, he must be good.'" She says the worst outcome for Haider would have been being ignored and left "a comparative nonentity as Governor in his home province of Carinthia."

But E.U. leaders, remembering an Austrian-born populist with a minority who climbed to power from a coalition in 1933, believed that they could not just say nothing. "We are aware of possible reactions and feelings among Austrian people, but ... we think it is our duty," said Frederic Desagneaux, a spokesman for French President Jacques Chirac. German Chancellor Gerhard Schrder saw the threats to ostracize Austria as "an expression that we stand for a Europe based on values, and that Mr. Haider has violated these values."

The leaders, falling in behind Portugal's Prime Minister, Antnio Guterres, current President of the Council of Ministers, also wanted to send a message to countries seeking E.U. entry in central and eastern Europe. Desagneaux said the reaction to Haider "is a signal to candidate countries that they shouldn't go in for dangerous political experiments." Among those candidates, the response was cautious, which is understandable given that Austria could hold out against E.U. enlargement in retribution. But Czech President Vaclav Havel, while not denouncing Haider outright, was clear enough. Recovering from flu in a Prague hospital, Havel said through his spokesman: "The European Union which the Czech Republic wants to enter is based on common values and mutual respect, and cannot idly watch the rise of dangerous extremism."

Others inside and outside Austria argue that Haider's extremism is different from that of, say, France's Jean-Marie Le Pen or Germany's frightening neo-Nazi groups. They see him not as a fascist but as a cunning opportunist. Says Die Presse's Rohrer: "He's a racist if it serves his purposes; he's a xenophobe if it serves his purposes; he's pro-Europe if it serves his purposes; and anti-Europe if it serves his purposes. Haider would be orthodox communist if it helped him to get to power."

What was clear amid the diplomacy and demagoguery was that the other D-word--democracy--had taken a serious dent. Though E.U. leaders abhor fortress politics based on disparaging immigrants as crime-causing, job-snatching aliens, Schssel-plus-Haider adds up to a clear majority in the Austrian parliament. "It's not as if the elections were rigged," says Jean-Yves Camus, a Paris-based political scientist with the European Center for Research and Action on Racism and Anti-Semitism. "I'm worried that we may be helping Haider to achieve his objective, which is to govern alone." Helping Haider get as far as he has was the fact that many Austrians were fed up with their staid two-party system. And after he broke it at the ballot box in October, no wheeling and dealing by the long-dominant parties could stick it together again.

What does it mean to have members of a democratically elected far-right party sharing power in Austria? Before the signing, about 15,000 Austrians took to Vienna's streets carrying placards with slogans such as "War Against the Fascists." One, in English, screamed, "The Roof is on Fire!" Like many outside Austria, plenty of the demonstrators saw Schssel as the real villain for being hungry enough for power to open the door to Haider. The protests continued after their deal was struck.

Both Haider--who will not join the government but will wield enormous influence in the coalition--and Schssel--who rises from Foreign Affairs Minister to Chancellor--are desperate to put out the fire of international condemnation. They signed a declaration pledging "adherence to the spiritual and moral values which are the common heritage of the peoples of Europe." It says they will "work for an Austria in which xenophobia, anti-Semitism and racism have no place."

It is largely Haider's equivocal remarks about some of these very subjects that necessitated such a declaration in the first place. During last year's election campaign, for example, Haider was interviewed by the Vienna weekly Falter. Asked who were the worst criminals of the century, he named Hitler and Stalin--then added Winston Churchill. In a later interview, Haider denied having said this.

In an interview with Time last week (see interview), Haider said he had already admitted "some mistakes in the past," and had apologized "for having wounded people by this." He said of his Freedom Party: "We are a young movement--35% of our voters are people between 19 and 30 years. They want to look into the future and not to look back. But we know that we have to keep in mind this dark period of Austrian history ... and to prevent a [return] to such a bad period." MORE>>

PAGE ONE|TWOPAGE ONE|TWOIt is the appeal of right-wing parties like Haider's to some of Europe's disenchanted young that helped provoke the response from E.U. leaders. The extremist parties themselves--and Europe has plenty of them (see profiles)--reacted with glee. A spokesman for the German People's Union--a party which has election slogans like "Criminal Foreigners Out!"--said the Schrder government had attacked Haider out of fear that "the support for rightist demands" could grow in Germany too.

How to control the "rightist demands" that Haider has now translated into political power is increasingly going to be a problem for a European Union with a declining population and a growing need for immigrant workers. Particularly in smaller countries, there is fear among many ordinary citizens that their cultures and beliefs might be overwhelmed by influxes of outsiders. Austrians point out that, per capita, they took in more refugees from the Bosnian war than any other European country, and non-E.U.-member Switzerland has, per capita, Europe's highest number of asylum seekers: 182,000 at the end of last year. The problem is that while these numbers cause some people genuine concern, they are easily oversimplified to make foreign synonymous with foe.

A small example comes from Denmark, where the right-wing Danish People's Party won 7.4% at the last polls, giving it 15 of the 179 seats in Parliament. After an antiracist group seeking to integrate migrants into Danish society published an advertisement showing a dark-skinned person saying: "When I become white, I want to be a teacher," the People's Party ran an ad of its own. Playing on fears that foreigners are usurping Danes' rights to housing, it showed a white Dane saying: "When I become a Muslim, I want a place to live."

While Europe as a whole has to face the dangers of these them-versus-us attitudes, the E.U. has the more immediate problem of its unavoidable dealings with Haider-Schssel Austria. That the European Commission reacted more quietly than the 14 national political leaders was in part a reflection of its inherent powerlessness. After an extraordinary session to try to map a course through the legal and diplomatic morass of the new situation, it "noted" the member states' views, adding "at this stage, the working of the European institutions is not affected." Britain's Commissioner for external relations, Chris Patten, and Austria's own Franz Fischler, the agriculture Commissioner, urged the Commission not to go out on a limb over Haider.

The Commission can only act against a member government--in a process ending in the European Court of Justice--over a specific national policy that contravenes Community law. Fischler himself won't be affected because he, like all Austrian staff in Brussels, legally represents the Commission, not the country. The most pressing problem is how the European Council, the body that breaks into ministerial working groups to thrash out common positions on virtually all E.U. matters, will go about its business. Will representatives shun seats next to Austrians? Say no to any bilateral talks? Refuse to pass the water jug?

In the European Parliament, many on the left applauded the fact that, as one put it, the E.U. had for once "actually acted on a matter of principle." Observers of the E.U.'s machinery were less convinced. Peter Ludlow, director of a Brussels think tank, the Centre for European Policy Studies, said: "The 14 governments have clearly painted themselves into a corner. They are obliged to treat Austria as a member until there is 'a serious and persistent breach' of E.U. principles." An irony, given Haider's election campaigns, is that Ludlow calls the E.U. reaction "a further example of the trend to subject sound policy to populism."

In Britain, where official reaction has been less vociferous than in most E.U. countries, Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform, a think tank considered close to the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair, is equally damning, calling the E.U. leaders' response "extremely stupid, thoughtless and infantile." The sensible course, he argues, "would have been to say, 'We'll be watching you like ferrets, and if you deviate from Union agreements we'll come down on you like a ton of bricks.'"

Jrg Haider has so far looked comfortable riding out the storm, which has even included calls to boycott Austria's ski slopes. He knew, of course, that it would happen. A warning came back in December, when he was in Brussels to open a new office there for Carinthia. The speaker doing the formalities pointed out that the slogan which Carinthia, Slovenia and the Italian region of Friuli are using in their bid to jointly host the 2006 Winter Olympics is "senza confini"--without borders. He added: "Anyone who elevates exclusion and xenophobia to principles has not understood the European idea--and will therefore not be understood in Europe." The beefy orator who was with Haider is better-known for his hard line on E.U. farm subsidies--Austria's own Franz Fischler. That he is right was underscored in Vienna last week by Yunus Yoldas, 30, who has just finished his doctorate in political science there. Yoldas, who is Turkish, predicted, "Austria will become increasingly isolated. People like me simply won't come here any more." That may be just what Jrg Haider wants, but it is the last thing a unifying Europe needs.

Reported by James Graff/Brussels, Nicholas Le Quesne/Paris, Angela Leuker and Andrew Purvis/Vienna and Ursula Sautter/Bonn with other bureaus

For the full text of this interview, click hereShortly after formally agreeing on a new government with People's Party leader Wolfgang Schssel, Jrg Haider spoke to Time Central Europe bureau chief Andrew Purvis and correspondent Angela Leuker. Excerpts:

TIME: How do you account for the strong E.U. response to the Freedom Party's entry into government?
Haider: I expected a wave of protest. We have had a rigid political structure in Austria since 1945. Only two parties have divided all the power between themselves. The more successful we have been [against these parties], the more the Socialist Party organized the protest around the world against us. They told terrible stories. But we have to convince our critics.

TIME: How will you do that?
Haider: Work hard and have good results. On a European level, they will see that they need us because they have to take unanimous decisions. Without Austria, there is no decision.

TIME: In the past you praised Hitler's employment policies and former members of the Waffen SS. Do you still hold those views?
Haider: As I have said before, I have made some mistakes in the past and I regret this and I apologize for having wounded people. I have made it clear that the Freedom Party has a clear distance from all ideas like nationalism and National Socialism.

TIME: Why did you praise Hitler's employment policies?
Haider: I think it was only one sentence out of a big debate in the regional parliament. They took out one sentence and made a campaign against me and it was not possible for me to explain myself.

TIME: What about your praise of the former Waffen SS?
Haider: At the time when I was speaking, I didn't know who was in the audience. I knew there were veterans, but I didn't know there were Waffen SS veterans.

TIME: In your campaign, you implied that immigrants were taking away jobs. But Austria's unemployment rate is low. Are immigrants threatening Austrians' jobs?
Haider: No. We have jobs for people with low qualifications. But if you look at the unemployment rate of the foreigners, you will see it is twice as high as Austrian unemployment. Soon after entering Austria, they lose their jobs because they are fired, or something else. Then they take the subsidies of the state. They live better than they do in their own countries. The Austrian people say, if we don't need them, we shouldn't invite them to come.

TIME: What policies will you introduce to reduce immigration?
Haider: First, we want to integrate the foreigners already living in Austria before opening the border and accepting additional immigrants.

TIME: After that is done, will you then open the borders?
Haider: It's not decided. But our main problem in the future will not be immigration, it will be the enlargement of the E.U. We are surrounded by potential new members and these members want to integrate and open the labor market as soon as possible. But if you open the labor market [too quickly], it encourages social conflict and will bring some job losses. There is a big gap between incomes in the new countries and incomes in Europe, especially Austria.

TIME: Do you agree that Austria hasn't come to terms with its role in World War II?
Haider: For a long period after the end of World War II the two predominant political parties--the Socialist Party and the People's Party--tried to reduce responsibility for the past. They said Austria was the first victim and not responsible at all. But we have victims and perpetrators. We were sitting on both sides.

TIME: After the next elections, will you put yourself forward as Chancellor?
Haider: We will see. If there is a need to be a candidate, I can decide it.

TIME: How does it feel being in government?
Haider: I had to fight 20 years against this political system and against international problems ... always having to make clear that the Freedom Party is not comparable with other radical or xenophobic movements. We took the final step today. It is a chance for Austria, and a chance for Europe.