Monday, 07 February 2000
As a UK citizen and Labour Party member who is living and
working in Austria I am writing to express my support for the EU and EU member
states' reaction to the inclusion of the FPOe in the new government and to
urge that the pressure be maintained over the next few months. This is vital
first because the government's calculation is that the ho-ha will die down and
the issue will become a manageable matter of image and presentation, secondly,
because it is only continued EU reaction which will maintain the momentum and
morale of the growing opposition inside the country and place further pressure
on those OeVP politicians who are deeply unhappy with the coalition.
Conversely, any slight weakening of the response will be presented as approval
or at least acceptance of the coalition.
The EU can simply not allow the participation of an
extreme-right and racist party in the government of one of its member states.
This would send a dangerous signal both to far right movements elsewhere
within the EU (there have already been pro-Haider demonstrations in Italy and
France) and to the right in would-be members in Eastern Europe. We know what
can happen if the nationalist genie is not put firmly back into bottle, and
having just supported NATO's military intervention against Serbia in the name
of minority and human rights the EU member states can hardly be seen to
tolerate similar developments within the Union. This is especially the case
now when the EU, for the first time under a majority of social democratic
governments, is trying to develop into something more than a community driven
by mutual economic interests.
The two main arguments against the EU's response (that is
counterproductive and a violation of sovereignty) are invalid. While there is
the danger that some Austrians may get the 'wrong message', had the EU states
not reacted so strongly many would have got no message at all. It was the firm
stance of France and Belgium which precipitated the opposition to the
coalition. But it is also important that the critique be directed at FPOe and
its policies and not merely at Haider who knows all too well how to the use
his 'demonization' to his advantage. This 'interference' in the internal
affairs of a member state is legitimate: (i) sovereignty has been pooled; (ii)
this coalition is not the expression of the will of Austrian voters but
an arrangement between the parties which came second and third in the
election; (iii) but even it if were the expression of popular will, the
democratic election of a party does not entail that the elected party is
itself democratic, and the FPOe is emphatically not.
Finally, Robin Cook (echoing Schuessel's plea) was wrong to
say that this government should be judged on deeds not words. The new
government will behave much like any other neo-liberal government, but the
FPOe is merely piggy-backing on the OeVP in order both to gain power and to
accustom Austrians and foreign governments to having them there. If this
strategy works they will come back with a more radical policy at the next
election and the nature of that policy can be read from the words and
particularly from so-called - but in fact carefully calculated - 'verbal
derailments' of that party's leader,
Yours sincerely,
Dr Alan Scott
Kirschentalgasse 16c /Top
B52
A-6020 Innsbruck, AUSTRIA
Tel./Fax. +43 (0)512
282277
E-Mail: brigscott@aon.at