Exaggerated Fears in Austria

Alarm bells sounded across the free world last week, as the anti-immigration, right-wing Freedom Party joined a newly formed coalition government in Austria. Riots broke out in Vienna, as those who live in the long shadow of the Third Reich protested violently to the rise of what some call a neo-fascist party.

Yet despite the clamor, critics must realize that Jörg Haider has come to power legally, and that democratic freedom does not necessarily mean that Austrian voters will always make choices popular with the rest of Europe. Before imposing heavy sanctions on Austria, the European Union should bear in mind the tenuous position of liberal democracy in Europe this century, and proceed with caution before persecuting the Freedom Party.

Indeed, there is cause for concern in Austria, as extreme right-wing politics are re-emerging for the first time in that country, after nearly half a century of Social Democratic rule. And the comparisons between Jörg Haider and Adolf Hitler are not entirely without warrant. Among Mr. Haider’s infamous comments have been remarks exonerating the notorious Waffen SS and other members of the Wehrmacht from guilt. His anti-immigration policies seem to the rest of the West to smack of National Socialist xenophobia.

Even after making a public statement apologizing for earlier remarks, Mr. Haider yesterday opened an old wound from the Second World War, arguing that ethnic Germans exiled by the Nazis from the Sudetenland (now a part of present-day Czechoslovakia) deserved the same reparations as persecuted Austrian Jews. Such a comment demonstrates that Mr. Haider’s word is not to be trusted, and that shades of Nazi sympathy may be present in his political views.

Yet the reaction against Mr. Haider by the European Union and the United States seems exaggerated. While this is the first example of an extreme right-wing party gaining power in the Austrian government since World War II, it is not the first time that such a party has gained power in Europe. A neo-fascist party was included in the Italian government in 1994; moreover, Communist parties (the other enemy) have been included in many European governments, and Communist apologists are still prevalent throughout Eastern Europe.

What is important to remember in all of this, from a historical perspective, is just how close Europe came to the collapse of liberal democracy in this century. In the 1930s, Europe became almost totally polarized between fascism on the right and communism on the left. The eastern European communist bloc has only recently dissolved. While the EU is charged with maintaining liberal democracy throughout Europe, drastic measures against the Austrian government at this stage could fuel the fires of right-wing sentiment, and make the situation even more dangerous.

The democratic nations of Europe have a responsibility to preserve the institution of liberal democracy from the twin evils of communism and fascist dictatorship. But they must bear in mind that Mr. Haider’s Freedom Party, while right-wing, was elected legally. While the EU is in the business of protecting liberal democracy, it should not be in the business of telling democratic countries exactly what kind of government they should choose to elect.

D.V.W.