AUSTRIA: Austria's Freedom Party has chosen Dr Jörg Haider as its leader, two years after the far-right populist withdrew from national politics. The move follows the resignation of three Freedom Party ministers and the collapse of Austria's coalition government.
The unanimous decision to reinstate Dr Haider as leader followed a four-hour meeting of the party's leadership in Linz. It represents the return of full control of his party to the 52-year-old governor of Carinthia.
Dr Haider handed the party leadership to Ms Susanne Riess-Passer in May 2000 after the Freedom Party entered government with the conservative People's Party. Ms Riess-Passer resigned as Austria's vice-chancellor this week after a power struggle with Dr Haider. She announced yesterday that she is withdrawing from politics altogether.
Despite his return as party leader, Dr Haider will not be the Freedom Party's candidate for chancellor when Austria elects a new government, probably in November. That role goes to one of his closest allies, the outgoing minister for social affairs, Mr Herbert Haupt. Dr Haider's sister, Ms Ursula Haubner, becomes one of the party's four deputy leaders.
The Freedom Party is expected to fight an uncompromisingly populist campaign, focusing on opposition to immigration and EU enlargement and calling for tax cuts for low earners.
A Gallup opinion poll to be published today in the Austrian weekly News shows support for the Freedom Party falling to 17 per cent, down from 27 per cent at the last election. The poll gives the opposition Social Democrats and Greens a total of 51 per cent support and suggests that 80 per cent of Austrians do not want the outgoing coalition to return to power.
The People's Party yesterday confirmed the chancellor, Dr Wolfgang Schüssel, as party leader. The unpopular Dr Schüssel can draw comfort from the fact that his party appears to have profited from the government's collapse, with support for it rising slightly to 31 per cent. Only 35 per cent of respondents, however, believe that he will be Austria's chancellor after the election.
Dr Schüssel has not ruled out forming another coalition with the Freedom Party but Dr Haider's return to a leadership role makes such an event unlikely. If the Social Democrats and Greens fail to win an overall majority, the most likely outcome would be a return to the grand coalition of Social Democrats and the People's Party that has governed Austria for most of the post-war period.
