"Far right" Success in Austrian Elections
The combined vote of both rightist parties equalled that obtained by Austria's Social Democrats, who picked up just over 29 per cent of the vote. The conservatives won some 26 per cent. However, final results are not expected to be known until the beginning of October, after postal ballots have all been counted.
The EU imposed sanctions on Austria in 2000 after the Freedom Party won 28 per cent of the vote. Mr Haider, who was then party leader, became the butt of international criticism after he praised Hitler's employment policies and described members of the Nazi SS as " men of honour". In an interview with The Independent last week, Mr Haider insisted that his praise for the Nazis was a thing of the past.
Michael Haupl, Vienna's mayor, was one of many Austrian observers who complained bitterly about the resurgence of the far right less than a decade after they were voted out of office. "If this trend continues, then the next Chancellor of Austria will be Strache," he said.
[ The trend certainly will continue and, so long as the elections really are "free and fair" we will see ethno-nationalists in power somewhere in Europe within as little as ten years. Then there should be a domino effect - but expect violent resistance to be arranged by the guardians of the phony democracy, who would rather bring about a war or starve people into submission. ]
nationalist on 09.29.08 @ 01:23 PM CST [more..] [No Comments]