The resistible rise of Jorg
That an a chan 12 vim in th HE annexation of Austria by the way a 'year zero' for Austrian fascism and national socialism, just as the military defeat of 1945 did not mean the end of fascist and far right ideologies From the fall of the monarchy in 1918 until 1934, all the political parties - Social Democrats included - believed that the new, considerably smaller Austria was not viable. Integration with Germany was unanimously considered as an objective necessity. In the 19th and 20th centuries, nationalist theories considered language as the basis of a constituted community. This made a distinctly Austrian nationalism very difficult to conceive. Moreover, the birth of new nations in Europe involved constant changes of frontiers with successive separations and reattachments, as in the case of Salzburg, which has belonged sometimes to Bavaria and sometimes to Austria.
An old tradition
The Christian anti-Semitism of the Catholic Church represents an old tradition. Vienna experienced several pogroms from the 15th century onwards. From the 19th century onwards, anti-Semitism began to be exploited politically. Social Christian and Catholic conservative currents saw it as a means of struggle against economic competition. For the German nationalists, it involved a fundamentally racist anti-Semitism. In 1919, the representatives of these two currents jointly founded the Anti-Semitic League, whose objective was the removal of Jews from all social positions. This League became a privileged terrain of action for the Nazis, who were forbidden from publicly expressing themselves until the foundation of the NSDAP (Nazi party) in 1938. But already prior to this, racist attacks and actions by Austrian Nazis met a great deal of sympathy. The Social Christians attempted to combat Nazi influence by radicalizing their own anti-Semitism. The Catholic Church followed step, even issuing a pastoral letter in 1933 which advo-
### Haider
THE ERUPTION onto the
Austrian political scene of a populist far right party, the
FPÖ, and its recent entry into government in the framework of a coalition with the
Conservative Party, owes noth-
Wing to chance.
### BORIS JEZEK* cated breaking the harmful influence of the Jews'. There is then no need for astonishment that anti-Jewish campaigns prospered on a fertile terrain following the Anschluss. During the Kristallnacht of November 1938, when the SA and the Hitler Youth attacked synagogues and Jewish shops, houses and individuals, a leaders had to urge restraint.
### Lessons never drawn
After 1945 and the Allied occupation which lasted until 1955, Austria was obliged by treaty to adopt antifascist legislation and measures, but the lessons of Nazism and above all of anti-Semitism were never officially drawn. This suppression was facilitated by the rapid reappearance of conflicts between the western powers and the Soviet Union with the outbreak of the Cold War. In their zone of occupation, the USA sought above all to influence politicians, intellectuals, teachers and journalists to make them partisans of the American system. In the south, the British occupation authorities soon made the Communist anti-Nazi resistance (present above all in the minority of Slovene origin) their principal enemies. The officers of the French occupation troops in the west were not themselves exempt from Pétainiste and anti-Semitic traditions. In the Soviet zone in the east the reparations that Austria had to pay were the first priority.
Apart from this, the Soviet army also repressed elements of the left and antifas-
Austria * cists. A not insignificant number of left Social Democrats and Trotskyists were abducted in this zone and deported to Siberia. The Soviet liberators were rapidly perceived as 'occupiers' for whom the people (even the working class) felt little sympathy.
In the official doctrine, Austria was the first victim of National Socialism. Its crimes were attributed to Germany, while those of the Austrian Nazis that could not be denied were treated as 'exceptions'. Apart from the Austrian Communist Party all the democratic parties adopted this point of view. This suppression was accentuated by the chase for votes and members in which all the parties, including the CP, took part. Many opponents of the Nazis remained in exile, while the Gestapo had killed more than 12,000 Austrian anti-fascists in the resistance. In February 1938, 180,000 Jews lived in Vienna, but only 2,000 survived the Nazi genocide.
All this means that the political potential that could have generated an open and critical discussion on the past no longer existed. Social Democrats and Social Christians established a class peace' - it was no longer necessary to reopen the 'graves of the first republic'.
The law banning Nazism would be enough to prevent any resurgence of fascist type ideologies. Until the Waldheim affair in 1986, anti-Semitism only survived in a subterranean fashion, but sociological studies confirmed its presence in all social classes and layers. It was only during the electoral campaign that preceded the election of former UN secretary general Kurt Waldheim to the presidency that the consensus was broken. However, the hostility to 'foreign' interference felt by numerous Austrians of every tendency made Waldheim's victory possible.
A turning point
This affair nonetheless represented a turning point. A commission of historians was set up to investigate Waldheim's participation in Nazi crimes. Members of this commission as well as other young historiInternational Viewpoint #320 April 2000 29
* Austria ans went further and established the participation of the Wehrmacht in massive executions in the Soviet Union and Serbia, under the command of Austrian officers in the latter case. The names of Nazi criminals still living in Austria were made public in greater number. The Holocaust and the responsibility carried by the Austrians were no longer taboo.
The administrative measures against former high ranking Nazi officials did not stop many people from escaping justice. Judges and prosecutors resumed their positions and the universities remained points of implantation for far right circles. The reconstitution of the far right was essentially carried out through the associations for 'the maintenance of traditions'. The most significant are the Austrian League of Comradeship, with 300,000 members, the Austrian League of Gymnasts with around 75,000 members, and the Patriotic Service of Carinthia with 110,000 members (it is common to be a member of several of these organizations at once).
It is primarily in the countryside that they play an important social and cultural role, which leads to their being courted and favored in the same manner by the SPÖ (Social Democratic Party) the ÖVP (Conservative Party) and the FPO (Freedom Party). This allows these organizations to gain respectability while presenting themselves as associations for the promotion of traditional leisure pursuits. The leadership of these organizations, like all the authors and editors of their publications, can be classified as far right or neofascist. The great majority of members do no more than participate in sporting or leisure activities, but this serves to legitimate their 'apolitical character and the links that the democratic parties entertain with them.
### Neo-fascists insignificant
Under the Second Republic, openly neo-fascist activist groups have never been able to attain a significant importance. However they developed a significant press activity with the financial support of former Nazis. Their number has never gone beyond 100 militants, split into diverse groups incapable of reaching agreement. The left organizations prevented them having a presence in the universities, while they were regularly hit by dissolution measures resulting from the application of the anti-Nazi laws, which pre-
30 International Viewpoint #320 April 2000 vented their consolidation and forced them to reappear under new names. Their attempts to recruit among football clubs and xenophobic rock groups failed because of the reluctance of these youth to submit themselves to a strict discipline. The situation changed in the late 1990s with the rise of racism in society as a whole.
During the labor shortage of the 1960s 'guest workers' were systematically encouraged to come to Austria. For the government and employers, but also for the trade union federation, the ÖGB, foreign workers were never considered as anything other than as a reserve army of labor. In Vienna for example, where the Social Democrats are dominant, local authority social housing is not available to non-Austrians. Social Democratic ministers of the interior over the past 30 years have regulated and limited the presence of *foreigners'. It was former SPÖ minister Karl Schlögl who had the honor of uniting the various laws into a single code which could make Austria a solid component of *fortress Europe' and guarantee the frontiers of the community with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.
### Haider's best man
This led to his being described by Jörg Haider as 'my best man in the government'. While Schlögl was minister a Nigerian refugee was killed while being expelled by police who had gagged him. The police also led an offensive in Vienna against Nigerian drug dealers - a great source of racist arguments. It could be said. then, that if racism and the rejection of foreigners have formed the basis of the electoral business of the FPÖ, the policy of the SPÖ in government has aided them. It is in changed their social orientation in the direction of the mobilization of young workers and the unemployed. During 'defense exercises' these latter were trained in guerilla techniques. The Antiparliamentary Opposition Faithful to the People (VAPO), with Gottfried Küssel at its head, became a pole of attraction. This latter was particularly active in 1990-91, during the breakup of the GDR. It prided itself on having given 100 interviews in one year, a media presence which exaggerated the real political weight of the VAPO. Küssel and other leaders were arrested in 1992, which was a blow to the activities of the neo-Nazis. He was liberated in 1999 for good conduct, and it will be necessary to wait a little to know if he will resume his place.
The tragic apogee of their persecution of foreigners was a series of letter bombs in reaction to Küssel's arrest, as well as a bomb attack on a gypsy hostel which led to 5 deaths. The 10 letter bombs were sent to anti-racist journalists, foreigners resident in Austria, the former mayor of Vienna, Zilk, as well as the collaborators of NGOs and associations linked to the church, active in support for refugees. Although the messages and demands which accompanied the bombs, were a mixture of historic revisionism and anti-foreigner disties still spoke of a single 'deranged' perpetrator. Finally, a culprit named Franz Fuchs was arrested in 1998. The murderous attack on the gypsies mobilized tens of thousands of anti-fascists, democrats and left militants throughout Austria
In 1947 the Alliance of Independents (VdU) was founded as the legal and democratic cover of the former Nazis. It should not be forgotten that in 1945 700,000 Austrians were still part of the NSDAP, even if membership was not always voluntary. Some SPÖ leaders supported the creation of the VdU because they expected it to weaken the conservative party, the ÖVP. It was out of this assembly of old and new Nazis, German nationalists and some 'liberals! that the FPÖ was born in 1956. During its founding congress, the aforementioned 'liberals' quit, claiming that, "this congress was the confirmation of a "seizure of power' prepared for a long time by a small circle of rightwing extremists
Most of the early leaders did indeed have pasts as active Nazis, but the FPÖ disguised itself as a "party of the center. During the 1964 congress, a turn was made with the intention of bringing the party out of isolation. The new leader, Friedrich Peter, a former SS member, said that 'nationalists and liberals have their place together in the FPÖ'.
A divided right
From 1970 onwards the party was particularly favored by the Social Democratic chancellor, Bruno Kreisky, with the intention of dividing the right. The leadership of the FPÖ reacted pragmatically without in any way changing its ideology. There were
indeed some resignations of old Nazis and an internal confrontation, but the party maintained itself. At the 1980 congress a showdown between the liberal wing and the nationalist wing ended with Norbert Steiger imposing himself as representative of the liberals. The representatives of the right (among them the young Jörg Haider) attacked the new leadership from the beginning, accusing it of being 'left liberal'. Steiger could not attain the goal he had set himself, namely ridding the party of its old Nazis. Nor was there any critical review of the past. In 1985, the FPO defense minister, Friedrich Frischenslager, who was presented as the liberal model, went to personally welcome the Nazi crim- "Sure of himself, unconventional and aggressive": Jorg Haider inal Walter Reder at Vienna airport, greeting him with a handshake, thus rendering manifest the party's links with the Nazi past.
### Offensive redoubled
The nationalists within the FPÖ redoubled their offensive against the liberal leadership. A game of secret negotiations and intrigues allowed Haider to take the leadership at the 1986 congress. The following year the liberals, including the former party presidents Friedrich Peter and Norbert Steiger, left the party. Although the FPÖ was still a member of the government coalition with the SPO, Haider adopted an aggressive oppositionist policy, which allowed him to push the electoral scores of the FPÖ up to around 20% *Foreigners' and 'the welfare of the retired' were the subjects, which exercised him most. In 1992-93, the FPÖ campaigned for a referendum with the aim of putting an end to immigration and worsening the situation of refugees and economic immigrants. Following some FPÖ leaders left the party and founded the Liberal Forum (LIF). This latter defended a consistent neo-liberal economic policy, but its proposals in the area of women's and immigrant rights and on the cultural level won it some left sympathies. The LIF is for the right of gay marriage and the limitation of the prerogatives of the Catholic Church. In 1999, it did not get past the 5% barrier and it is no longer represented in parliament.
The opponents of this referendum were responsible for the biggest anti-racist mobilization that Austria had ever seen -250,000 people took part. This referendum was a defeat for the FPO, which hoped for
1.5 million signatures and only obtained 417,000. The FPÖ announced that it would se the area more ta i At the
1999 elections for the National Council, the FPO gained 27% of the votes and became the second party, some votes behind the SPÖ.
Until the 1980s, the FPÖ focused primarily on the right. Under the leadership of Haider, the electorate changed significantly. The party itself attracted above all young people in the liberal professions, managers and socially ascendant people. One could then speak of a party of yuppies. This fits in with Haider's image - he loves to turn up at sporting competitions like the New York marathon to give the impression that he is in form and ready to fight. His appearance is studied - he never wears a tie, which marks him out from traditional politicians.
The party only has about 55,000 members, small compared to the SPO (more than a million) or the OVP (500,000) in a country of 7 million inhabitants. There is no structure which allows militants or sympathizers to be active. Neither has the FPÖ succeeded in attracting the electors on a durable basis, as shown by the referendum for example. This stems from the fact that it positioned itself until then as an alternative for what were essentially protest votes coming from the SPO
The FPÖ's votes come primarily from the petty bourgeoisie and the working class - one worker in two voted for it this time. However, the hard core of SPO partisans, the retired, the skilled workers and the employees have not defected to the FPÖ -100,000 of them did not vote in protest against the policy of the SPO. In Vienna, many voted for the Greens to show their opposition to the xenophobic course of their party, which allowed the Greens, who lead the antiracist campaigns, to become the second party in some neighborhoods.
Austrian authoritarianism? sycnosociologist!
ttomayer has underlined the propensi of Austrians to submit themselves voluntarily to an authority. He sees here the explanation of the weak resistance to Nazism and the passivity of many who were not Nazis. The working class also falls into this schema of behavior. The system of comanagement and the policies of the SPÖ have also contributed significantly to this state of affairs. The SPO followed a paternalist policy which has been imitated by Haider - 'give us the power, we will look after your business for you'- this sums up the credo of the SPÖ and the ÖGB trade union confederation which is closely linked to it. From 'high' (the higher bodies) to low (the party fulltimers and the trade union delegates) this structure of authority functioned at full capacity. Kreisky was particularly typical of this fashion of dominating by authority. The critical elements inside the party were reduced to silence through pressure, denunciation as pro-Communist or expulsion. This was part of the political culture of the SPÖ and met with widespread
When the Social Democrats were forced to abandon their policy of redistribution in the 1970s and became increasingly reliant on austerity measures which have International Viewpoint #320 April 2000 31
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Die Freih
* Austria been strengthened still further since the Maastricht treaty, workers did not react as in the other countries of Europe, with active resistance, but sought a personality who identified himself as Kreisky's successor, a man equally as sure of himself, unconventional and aggressive. Haider was this man. The polls confirm regularly that numerous electors appreciate Haider's 'strong opposition' but did not want him in government. This explains also the sense of shock in Austria, the widespread rejection of the ÖVP- FPÖ coalition and the sympathy shown for the demonstrations of recent weeks.
Today, the far right dominates the discourse and the practice of the FPÖ. This is expressed in the choice of candidates in elections and for decisive posts. The Documentation Center of the Austrian Resistance has been able to establish numerous points of contact between these personalities and far right extremism, which is now almost entirely concentrated within the FPÖ, with the exception of the neo-Nazi activists around Küssel or other groupuscules still intent on 'overthrow' through armed struggle. In many speeches and articles the FPO has identified itself with the 'social community of the people" and criticized the 'old parties" and the democratic system.
A strong state
Already in 1993 Haider had said in an interview, "in reality Austria is not a democracy which works, it is an authoritarian democracy on the road of development". Naturally Haider is for a strong state'. He denounces rampant criminality, the increase in drug trafficking and the waste of social benefits, due, in his view, in particular to foreigners. The antidotes are repression, toughening of penal procedures and strengthening of the police. The image of the woman also corresponds to far right conceptions - she should find her natural place in the family, have children and bring
Haider is a man of the far right who has made the FPÖ into an instrument of the
"Führerprinzip". It is he who dictates the line, as much on the ideological level as in day to day tactics. All is calculated - his declarations on the 'orderly employment policies' of the Third Reich, the presentation of the concentration camps as labor camps and his declared sympathy for the
'sincere' men of the SS. The Supreme
Tribunal in Vienna has even recognized that the excuses that he is forced to offer are only 'operations decided by political calculation'.
### Neoliberal economics
At the economic level, Haider is a pure neo-liberal. He has tried to introduce himself into economic debates with the flat tax', but without success. The decisions of the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition government for the first time lay clearly bare the contradiction between the role of 'defender of the little people' that Haider attributes to himself and his practice. Whereas one week before the change of government he still claimed that he would not accept tax increases, the program of the coalition envisages appreciable increases, which Haider has defended as 'necessary adaptations'.
Capital, in general, is not attracted by the FPÖ. Only some employers hostile to the trade unions, like for example Frank Stronach of the Magna group, support him. There are two reasons for this. Because of its restricted internal market, Austrian capitalism is extremely dependent on international relations. Also, it has benefited over the last 30 years from a social peace guaranteed by the Social Democrats and the integration of the trade union movement in the committees and structures of comanagement at all levels. The participation of the FPÖ in the government is a nightmare for the employers: drying up of foreign investment, crisis of the tourism industry following the appeals for a boycott as in Belgium, a run on the Vienna stock
The FPÖ is today a party of the radical right which enjoys strong support from young electors in the working class. What it lacks is the capacity to organize itself broadly. The FPÖ's electors have no other means of political expression than voting for it. They are, to a great extent, protest voters who want Haider to carry on being an aggressive political oppositionist, but are in agreement with some parts only of his program. What makes the FPÖ dangerous is its capacity of adaptation, which means that a still greater radicalization cannot be ruled out. It is also true that this
"democratic' party recycles elements of the fascist program by rendering them presentable and debatable. It will succeed all the better in this the longer it remains in government.
In the 1970s the antifascist resistance was primarily interested in the FPÖ. The Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance carried out a scientific analysis of the ideology of the party and other groupings, exposing relations between the FPÖ and the far right. At this time, the far left physically prevented the neo-Nazi groups from organizing in the universities. While polemics about exposed Nazi criminals appeared in the media, this did not give birth to a broad movement.
### Anti-fascist takeoff
It was only with the Waldheim affair that the anti-fascist movement took off, with thousands of people demonstrating against the suppression of the Nazi past. New committees and groups developed, which are again playing a role in the current mobilizations. This movement experienced a new growth after the letter bombs and the attack on the gypsies with a number of demonstrations and a rally of 250,000 people in Vienna. The participants were essentially supporters of the left, Greens, Liberals, Social Democrats and Christians. A change of generation had come - a great number of school students and students participated. Since the formation of the new government, demonstrations have taken place uninterruptedly. While the parties were still negotiating, 12,000 people demonstrated in Vienna against racism, with the trade unions participating in the mobilizations for the first time. During the ÖVP-FPÖ negotiations, 15,000 people came onto the streets to
The antiracist movement hailed the sanctions decided on by the European Community, Israel and the USA, because they weaken the government. Since the new government came into power, demonstrations of young antifascists are taking place daily, to the applause of passers by. This sympathy is a totally new phenomenon. Demonstrations begin spontaneously in the afternoon and go on in the streets of
Vienna until 2 am. Demonstrations have also taken place in several other towns, with extensive coverage. There is no indication of any end to this mobilization. *
*Boris Jezek is editor of the bimonthly Die Linke, organ of Sozialistische Alternative (SOAL), Austrian section of the
Fourth International.
1. The term "liberal" in Austria refers to political currents originating in the 1848 revolution. They are not hostile to 'German nationalists" and support a measured economic neo-liberalism. They often play a progressive role on social subjects like gay rights, limitation of the influence of the
Catholic Church, women's equality and cultural questions.
They can be compared to the French Radicals.
The CDU faces its do a deepest crisis ever