Jorg Haider's New Clothes

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Once a poster boy for Europe's resurgent far-right parties, Jörg Haider has been living a much quieter life as Governor of Carinthia, a big fish in the small pond of Austria's southernmost province, since stepping down as party leader in 2000. Now, the maverick politician is making waves again — and the turbulence is rocking Austria's coalition government.

In 1999, Haider and his Freedom Party (FPO) took 27% of the vote in parliamentary elections and a place in government as junior partner to Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel's conservative Austrian People's Party. The European Union imposed a diplomatic boycott on Austria because of the FPO's extreme views; Haider has restrictive immigration policies and once called SS veterans "men of honor." Still, the coalition went ahead, and Austria gradually resumed normal relations with its E.U. partners. But Haider retreated to his native Carinthia, though he continued to dominate his party from the sidelines and sowed divisions between his followers and other factions. The FPO's popularity shriveled. In recent local elections, it netted no more than 6%, though it continued its role in central government.

Until last week, that is, when Haider announced the formation of a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria, which would absorb all of the FPO's government ministers. Dismissing the FPO as "an important historical relic," Haider said it was time to focus on domestic issues such as jobs, families and cultural identity. "We do not want to use up all of our energy on our internal critics, we want to use it for Austria," he said. Schüssel says he will continue his "successful cooperation" with former FPO ministers under their new banner. Analysts say that by distancing themselves from the extreme-right members of the former FPO, Haider and his new alliance might win back voters lost because of the party's divisions and harsh policies. A recent attempt to stir up anti-Turkish sentiment backfired when FPO posters vowing "Vienna must not become Istanbul!" were ridiculed. Political scientist Peter Filzmaier says the new party will aim for 10% in parliamentary elections next year: "If he can do that, he will be in the game again," says Filzmaier. If not, Haider may have to content himself with his small pond.