Haider Haider Haider

rc-am rcollins at netlink.com.au
Tue Feb 15 21:53:13 PST 2000


I'm still waiting for those who insist on the obviousness of antiHaiderism as a riposte to Zizek's article to point out what the specific differences are between what's been happening throughout Europe, and elsewhwere, and what the FP will do.

I've seen specific mention of:

- welfare cutbacks. Is this exceptional?

- a recovery of national history for the right. The re-election of the Liberal-National Coalition here was preceded by the history wars too, and the refusal of what our current PM calls 'black armband history'.

- a halt to migration. Doesn't sound that exceptional to me. Nor would I make a qualitative distinction between narrowing to such an extent and in such a way that deaths result (eg, Italy and the US) and 'halting' which would have the same effect.

- praise for the "employment policies" of Germany in the 1930s. We already know this isn't an exceptional position. Just yesterday, a proposal was put before to the Australian Cabinet to use asylum-seekers who are locked up in detention camps as fruitpickers to defray the costs of their imprisonment by the Department of Immigration.

So, what's the big deal about Haider? As I read it, the only tangible and specific difference lies in the expansion of NATO and the EU.

Angela

Ken Mck cited:


> Toronto Star, Feb 15, 2000 A12
> by Olivia Ward
>
> "But even diplomats from countries that oppose the Freedom Party are
privately
> concerned that isolation will drive more Austrians into Haider's camp in
> protest...."
>
> "A recent poll, in fact, showed that backing for the far right party has
risen
> from 27% durning the Feb 4 election to 30% last week."
>
> Hella Pick, a Berlin-based expert on Central European politics, stated,
"Haider
> is cashing in on the criticism."



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