Austria: Gains for the Maverick Right

In postwar Austria’s self-conscious democracy, politics has been played politely, and sometimes to the point of boredom. When Austrians voted in last week’s general elections, however, a surprising number showed disenchantment with mainstream politics. Voters gave the ruling Socialists 80 seats in parliament, or ten fewer than they held before the election. The conservative ^ People’s Party lost four seats and wound up with 77. The phenomenom of the campaign was Freedom Party Leader Jorg Haider, 36, who stressed Austria’s ethnic and cultural ties with Germany and denounced corruption and privilege. Haider’s right-wing party, which numbers ex-Nazi sympathizers among its members, raised its parliamentary seat total from twelve to 18.

After last week’s election, the government of Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, a Socialist, resigned. Vranitzky, who will now try to form a new government with the People’s Party, has vowed to keep the conservative Freedom Party from sharing power in the coalition.