'Fourth Way' of the ultra right: Austria, Europe, and the end of neo-corporatism, The

Capital & Class,  Spring 2001  by Marchart, Oliver

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Notes:

1. The EU's boycott was soon joined by, among other countries, Israel, Canada, Argentina, and, to a lesser degree, the United States. On the other side, NeoNazis and the Ultra-Right started marching through the streets of Paris,

Berlin, or Budapest in support of the coalition in Vienna.

2. With the exception of a single though powerful yellow press newspaper (Neue Kronen-Zeitung) that-despite its right

wing leanings--supported environmental issues.

3. After a period in which Haider brought the party back in line with all-German 'volkisch' nationalism (he called the Austrian 'nation' a 'miscarriage'), he turned into an Austrian patriot in order to maximize votes. A strategic move, since the pan-German camp in Austria has a genuine potential of less than 5 percent.

4. Before the change in government it had not been possible to construct a stable alternative on the Left, let alone a broad anti-racist alliance. The reason is that the Freedom Party was able to rely on a hidden racist consensus within the former government. Here one has to distinguish between policies and politics. On the level of politics the former grand coalition, and in particular the Social Democrats, stuck to their strict political demarcation line vis--vis the Freedom Party. While the Conservatives have always been More ambivalent on that point, the Social Democrats regularly gave the campaign promise not to enter a coalition with Jorg Haider (they nevertheless left it

open whether or not they would accept as a partner a reformed Freedom Party that got rid of Haider). However, on the level of governmental policies and of legislation the former SPO/OVP coalition put into effect precisely what the Freedom Party under Haider demanded. Although in 1993 a referendum against further immigration-started by the Freedom Party-- was considered a failure ('only' 417,000 signed), the xenophobic content of the referendum entered legislation step by step. A non-immigration policy was put into effect (with the exception of managers, students/scientists, and a small contingent reserved for family members of some immigrants) and today, Austria's immigration laws and asylum regulations belong to the most restrictive ones in Europe.

5. It is an open secret that the FPO is financed to a significant extent by industrialists and had been the party of big capital long before Haider took power.

6. His main goal, thus, is what he calls the `Third Rebublic': a plebiscitarian leader-- democracy.

References:

Gerlich, Peter (1992) 'A Farewell to Corporatism,' in West European Politics 1511992, pp.132-146.

Marchart, Oliver (1999) Das Ende des Josephinismus. Zur Politisierung der osterreichischen Kulturpolitik, Vienna: Edition Selene.

(2000) 'Contre la levee des sanctions: in Liberation, September 13, p.5.

Mouffe, Chantal (1998) `The Radical

Centre: A Politics without Adversary,' in Soundings. A Journal of Politics and Culture 9, Summer, pp. 11-23.

Pelinka, Anton (1993) `Parteien and VerbAnde,' in Sozialpartnerschaft: Kontinuitat and Wandel eines Modells, Ed. Emmerich TAlos, Vienna: Verlag fir Gesellschaftskritik, pp.69-78.