The European Union Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenther Verheugen, without over-reacting, stated simply the basis on which the democracies must oppose the ascension of Joerg Haider's Freedom Party to government in Austria.
"The message from the world is clear. The participation of a radical right-wing party in a democratic country in Europe will simply not be accepted. Those times are over, and I'm glad they're over."
The message from the European Union is clear - that opposition to Haider and his views is not simply an Austrian affair, or a Jewish concern, or a safeguarding of ethnic minorities. It is all of these, but more than that, it is the concern of all European and world democracies. Every extreme rightist and xenophobic party in Europe and beyond has praised and welcomed Haider's success. That in itself says all that needs to be said about the need to oppose the Freedom Party.
"This new government, which I believe is nothing but a partnership of convenience to seize power, will find it very difficult to achieve international credibility," said the general secretary of the Austrian Social Democrats, Alfred Gusenbauer.
Germany's Jewish community leader has gone went further and compared the rise of Haider to that of Germany's Nazis before World War Two but he did caution the EU against driving Vienna into international isolation. Paul Spiegel, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said on Wednesday it was vital to prevent democracy being undermined in Austria in a repeat of the rise to power of Austrian-born Adolf Hitler in Germany in 1933.
"Many years ago, when things started out in Germany, people said the democratic forces were strong enough," said Paul Spiegel, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany said in a radio interview. "We have always said 'be vigilant', and we say that again today in connection with Mr. Haider's party."
Spiegel, who described Haider as a "wolf in sheep's clothing," said foreign pressure should focus on persuading Austria's mainstream parties not to ally with the Freedom Party (FPO).
In Belgium, a group of Auschwitz survivors called on Austria in vain to block the admission of the FPO to the coalition government. "This party and its leader have professed and still profess values and an ideology the consequences of which are manifest in our recent history. We ask you urgently to do the necessary to avoid the participation of Mr. Joerg Haider's party in the Austrian government," Auschwitz Foundation President Baron Paul Halter said in a letter to Austrian President Thomas Kleistil the day before the new coalition was formed.
Israel lead the opposition of the democratic world by withdrawing its ambassador. "The inclusion of an extreme right-wing party...in the government of a European country such as Austria should outrage every citizen of the free world," said Prime Minister Ehud Barak. All the other 14 governments are committed to breaking off bilateral political contacts with an Austrian government that includes the FPO. "The new Austrian coalition forces an unacceptable breach in the resistance to a resurgence of fascist ideas in Europe," said Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel.
"How could we have the same trustful relations with a government that does not share the same objectives?" asked French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine.
Germany, France and Belgium have all been especially outspoken in their repeated condemnation of Haider, with Italy and Spain not far behind. But aside from the declared good intentions, the implications of EU statements demanding action are still somewhat unclear and there are inevitable national differences.
One of the major EU states to maintain an odd silence \has been Britain - all the more surprising since it has a powerful popular government run by Tony Blair, almost a social democratic anti-Haider.
British officials said they felt nothing needed to be added to the joint statement by the 14 EU states and that there was no evidence that public condemnation of Mr. Haider was helping move anything except his opinion poll ratings. This they said was not a worthwhile activity for Britain to indulge in. Given the well known liberal views of Mr. Blair and his government, this rather offbeat attitude should be taken at face value as genuine.
It is still not clear how the break in bilateral contacts will pan out. The decision was reached hastily by the 14 heads of government after a rapid buzz of contacts, but there has been no collective meeting about implementation.
Israel has pulled its man out of Vienna, but has not asked the Austrian ambassador to leave Tel Aviv - indeed the Knesset invited Mr. Wolfgang Paul to explain his government's position and to listen to the cries of outrage from Knesset members. This he did with good grace and understanding.
No action by the EU as an institution has been decided, so Austrian ministers may continue to take part in EU meetings. If their colleagues refuse to talk to them informally, it will disrupt and delay some business. Many EU officials doubt whether one can draw a line between multi-lateral and bilateral contacts in an organic entity like the EU. Nonetheless, said Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs Francisco Seixas da Costa, "we are not any more in a kind of European Community in which we have no principles to abide by. We are now in a European Union."
Since the Freedom Party's success in October made front-page news across Europe, media reaction has been almost uniformly negative and the call to opposition strident. More than lumbering institutions however, it is this powerful media interest - a "sexy story" in professional news jargon - that is more likely to keep criticism and scrutiny of Haider in the public eye focus.
"A new Hitler in Austria?" howled a headline la Repubblica daily in neighboring Italy. Britain's Times sniffed after the election that a government with Haider at the helm was "unthinkable." The thought has been made flesh.
The United States also reacted cautiously but has made clear its strong opposition to any statements by Haider that could be seen as pro-Nazi or xenophobic, and recalled its ambassador for consultations. "We call upon the party to continue the tradition of Austrian support for human rights and equal rights for minorities," U.S. State Department Spokesman James Rubin said.
European governments will now watch carefully to see if further action is needed. France as well as the European Parliament has publicly raised the long-term possibility of suspending Austria's voting rights in the EU. Under Article 7 of the European Union Treaty, that could be done if the other 14 unanimously decided that Austria were in serious and persistent breach of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law.
But for the moment, such action is remote because, under a document demanded by President Kleistel;, the new Austrian coalition has formally committed itself to those principles and acknowledged Austria's share of responsibility for Nazi crimes.
In the Jewish world, some 200 of Europe's Orthodox rabbis aborted plans to meet in Vienna.
The Conference of European Rabbis said it would move its scheduled March meeting to Slovakia because it was now "inappropriate" for the rabbis to meet in Austria, said conference Secretary-General Aba Dunner.
The decision came as the European Jewish Congress also lashed out at the decision to include Haider's party in the coalition. The EJC, which serves as the diplomatic representative in discussions involving some 2 million European Jews and their respective governments, hailed the decision by the European Union to isolate Austria diplomatically. The EJC also called on all the peoples of Europe to impose a tourist boycott on Austria. The chief rabbis of several European countries also spoke.
"As leaders of Jewish communities in Europe, we feel bound to register our dismay at the turn of events in Austria and to signal as clearly as we can that this is not the way forward for Europe," said British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
But the fact is that the current crisis in Austria, with its similarities to the Kurt Waldheim affair, is only marginally a Jewish issue - it is a problem of Austria, of Europe and of history," said one commentator.
For Austria - even before the government was sworn in the Freedom Party and its coalition partner, the center-right People's Party, were forced to sign the unprecedented document pledging to support democracy, combat anti-Semitism and accept responsibility for Austria's role in the Holocaust.
A clearly embarrassed President Klestil, warned the government that it would be judged by its actions and that he personally would monitor its progress. The question for Austrians now is whether the nation can live up to all these vows.
The unprecedented political sanctions imposed by Austria's EU partners and the United States were directed far beyond Austria's "yuppie fascist." They send a message also to those supporting the rising tide of xenophobia and extreme right parties across eastern and western Europe.
Concerned democrats Europe cannot again take blase risks with fascism - however yuppified and sanitized.
Andras Kovacs is Budapest academic who has long tracked investigated and monitored nationalism and anti-Semitism. In a recent lecture he said: "The illusions created by the euphoria that accompanied the fall of the Berlin Wall have been dispelled. Now, 10 years later, instead of debating the end of history and the final victory of liberal democracy, shouldn't we really be talking about the eternal recurrence of history and the deep crisis of Western democracies."
Fighting Racism
D.O.W. Dokumentationsarchiv des Oesterreichischen Widerstandes
Campaign against Racism
and Fascism (UK)
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel
Demonstrators outside the Austrian parliment
Protesters clash with police in Vienna
Prince Charles of England delays his trip to Austria after being advised
to do so by UK government
