[lbo-talk] Haider's successor axed for loving him

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Thu Oct 23 10:48:36 PDT 2008


[Haider's story keeps getting juicier. He's even better copy dead than he was in life.]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24542711-2703,00.html

The Australian

October 24, 2008

THE successor to Austrian far-right leader Jorg Haider has been forced

to step down after he revealed he and the dead politician had a

homosexual relationship, British newspapers reported.

The Independent said that Stefan Petzner, the 27-year-old who recently

replaced Haider as leader of the right-wing Alliance For The Future of

Austria, had effectively outed himself as the deceased's gay lover

while being interviewed on an Austrian radio breakfast show.

"I had to go to him. I had to go to him," Mr Petzner said as he

recalled how he rushed to the hospital where the dead body of

52-year-old Haider was lying after his fatal crash on October 13.

"We had a relationship that went far beyond friendship. Jorg and I were

connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life."

The Times said Haider, who was killed in a high-speed car crash, had

drunk vodka at a gay bar after having an argument with Mr Petzner at a

magazine launch party.

The Alliance, embarrassed by Mr Petzner's interview, demoted him to

deputy and promoted Josef Buchner, 43, a hotel owner and a divorced

father of two, who was seen as a more conservative choice.

Both papers reported that Haider's widow, Claudia, had not objected to

the relationship.

The Independent quoted Mr Petzner as saying: "She loved him as a woman.

He loved her as a man. I loved him in a completely different and

personal way. She understood that."

Copyright 2008 News Limited. All times AEDT (GMT + 11).



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list