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Haider flees sinking FPO ship

01 August 2002

The Austrian government collapsed in September when Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssell called a general election after his far-right coalition partners resigned from the cabinet. The conservative Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) had formed a government with the previously untouchable Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) in February 2000. Schüssell, who at the time of the elections pledged to go into opposition rather than form an alliance with Jörg Haider's FPÖ, said that he now wanted to "create clarity". The new elections are expected to take place on November 24.
The resignation of vice-chancellor, Susanne Riess-Passer and two other ministers, followed a "putsch" at the FPÖ congress on October 20 by Haider. Haider, who because of his frequent statements expressing admiration for the policies of Adolf Hitler had been forced to stand down from the FPÖ leadership as a condition of their joining Schüssell's coalition, had given the leadership role to Reiss-Passer, ostensibly retiring from national politics to run his feifdom in Carinthia.
However, the nature of the move became clear at the congress when he forced the resignation of the party's cabinet ministers by demanding sweeping government policy changes. At the same time the party executive reinstated Haider as leader.
Days before his confirmation as FPÖ leader at a special convention on September 19, Haider astonished his party by withdrawing his nomination. In a statement Haider claimed that he had received threats to his family, forcing him to drop his leadership claims. In reality his decision is widely thought to have more to do with forecasts that the FPÖ will do disastrously in the forthcoming election.
Green Party MP, Karl Ollinger, said: "The FPÖ ship is rudderless and sinking fast and Jörg Haider does not want to be associated with it. He is leaving the sinking ship".
Guardian 10, 12.10.02; Daily Telegraph 16.9.02