ALLAN HALL in BERLIN
AUSTRIA’S far-right political bogeyman, Jörg Haider, believes he could become the Austrian chancellor after Jean-Marie Le Pen’s success in France indicated a further shift to the right in European politics.
Just as Mr Le Pen predicted his political career would rise after Mr Haider’s far-right Freedom Party scored spectacular success in a general election that catapulted it into power two years ago, Mr Haider believes the role as chancellor that remained tantalisingly out of grip last time might finally now be within his grasp.
Speaking in a one-hour interview with the Arab television al-Jazeera, Mr Haider he said he felt ready to take on the mantle of chancellor after a temporary step back from national politics "if that is what the people want".
He rejected any idea that outside influences might again prevent him from taking up the chancellor’s job.
Last time around, Mr Haider’s party polled more than the conservatives but the top job as chancellor ended up going to the conservative leader, Wolfgang Schüssel, rather than Mr Haider.
At the time he was leader of the Freedom Party, which had the majority in the coalition.
Asked if international pressure would again stop him taking up the position of chancellor if it was offered to him, Mr Haider said: "I don’t see any reason to react to pressure from outside. If the people and my party want it, then I am ready. I run marathons so I’m used to having to wait a long time to get to the finishing line. I will not lose sight of the target of becoming chancellor."
He added that he saw a real possibility that he could be chancellor in Austria in the wake of Mr Le Pen’s victory.
He added that he still had plans for leading a line-up of similar-minded European far-right groups in challenging the next round of EU elections.
Only last month Mr Haider said he would quit national politics after criticism of his trip to Iraq, during which he was pictured chatting with Saddam Hussein.
"In the German-speaking world the word ‘right’ is a synonym for something good while ‘left’ is a symbol of the fact that things are not in order."
Asked about Mr Le Pen’s showing in the first round of the French election, Mr Haider said it was "a victory for democracy and a resounding slap in the face for the established French political parties".
He added that French citizens would no longer accept politicians’ failure to deal with such problems as massive illegal immigration, misuse of asylum and crimes committed by foreigners. Politicians had to address the question of domestic security, he said.
Mr Haider said the election result had justified his description of the French president, Jacques Chirac, as a "pocket-sized Napoleon".
Mr Haider, who is described as a "Le Pen with style", has offered qualified praise of Adolf Hitler, described concentration camps as punishment centres, implying those inside had done something wrong to merit being there, and praised former SS men as "decent men of conviction".
Austria was briefly subject to EU sanctions - championed by France - after Mr Haider’s party won second place in 1999 and he formed a government with the conservatives, who came third. His Freedom Party maintains that it would halt all immigration, regardless of country of origin, until current immigrants have been integrated into Austrian society.
Mr Haider stepped down as leader of the Freedom Party to concentrate on his job as governor of Carinthia, but behind the scenes he is still believed to be the party’s main force.
In the interview with al-Jazeera he was frequently referred to as the Freedom Party leader, and never corrected the suggestion.
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