Hate and Apathy in the Alps
by Clay Risen

JENNERSDORF, Austria — The enemies of Jorg Haider, the head of Austria's powerful, nativist FPO party, say that he is a wolf in sheep's clothing — that beneath the disarming smile and snappy suits is a hardcore racist and anti-semite whose policies are only a few hairs shy of full-blown Nazism.

Jorg Haider, however, says he is a sheep in wolf's clothing — that while he does have strong views on immigration and minorities, he is not a hatemonger, and that his opponents have painted him as such because they know no other way to stop his meteoric rise to power.

The real Haider, whose FPO (or Austrian Liberal Party) won second place behind the Socialists in the national election earlier this month, lies somewhere in between. On the one hand, Haider is right to take his domestic and international critics to task for calling him a racist and an anti-Semite. Those are big, powerful words, not to be thrown around at just anybody. And, indeed, Haider has never uttered an anti-Semitic comment on record. On the other hand, Haider makes no apologies for his party's use of race baiting as a central tactic in their campaign, nor for the use of Nazi-era words like "Uberfremdung" (roughly "over-foreignerization") on their posters.

Haider himself is somewhat of an enigma. His quick wit and yuppie mantle doesn't fit with the traditional image of hate, and his rising appeal has more to do with his anti-establishment rhetoric and his vague promises of something for everyone; he has already promised both to reduce the budget deficit and provide cash allowances to all families.

Indeed, the danger with Haider lies in what we don't know: for instance, what exactly lies behind the anti-minority rhetoric? What sort of policies does he have in store? He has already announced two: zero immigration for several years, as well as the immediate deportation of any immigrant convicted of a crime.

After the election most Austrians, struggling to explain why such a man could receive so many votes, decided that it had everything to do with boredom and apathy with the ruling Socialist-Conservative coalition, which has ruled Austria for the last few decades. The people simply wanted something new, not necessarily something racist. Haider is flashy, good looking, and sharp-witted; imagine Pat Buchanan minus a few pounds, and with a good tan. This explanation, apparently, is sufficient to let most Austrians go to sleep at night.

And yet it shouldn't. In fact, the very idea that almost 30 percent of the Austrian public would put a man most call a Nazi into a position of power out of sheer boredom is a very, very frightening thought. The economy is good, unemployment is down, and the voters are still willing to let the barbarians through the gates?

As if this weren't enough, the same scenario is about to replicate itself in Switzerland. There, millionaire Christoph Blocher, head of the anti-immigrant SVP (Swiss People's Party), is set to place second behind the socialists, and potentially gain two seats on the 7-person parliament.

This would upset a balance of power that has held since 1959, in which the Socialists, the Conservatives and the Liberals each held two seats and the SVP one. While the SVP is an established party, as of late it has taken a strong nativist stance, blocking Swiss participation in international peacekeeping efforts, keeping Switzerland out of the European Monetary Union and even pushing Swiss withdrawal from the UN altogether.

And the reason for the SVP's impending success? According to Format, Austria's leading newsmagazine, the voters are simply tired of the same old game.

The real question, the one that should keep everyone up at night, is that if the FPO and the SVP can do so well in countries with strong, honest governments and good economies, what happens when a political scandal hits or there is a sudden depression? It's easy to see that immigrants are having little negative effect on their economies (in fact, most studies show immigration help an economy by taking jobs natives don't want), but what happens when unemployment skyrockets, or welfare starts to expand the deficit? The race baiting will take on a new dimension, and the FPO and the SVP, already positioned in the wings, will take over power with a vegeance.

Fortunately, this scenario is not likely to happen in the next few years in either country. And in this light, there may be a silver lining to the FPO's success. Haider's (and Blocher's) brand of yuppified racism may serve as a vaccine, a small dose of the bad that wakes up the public's defenses against the really bad. Perhaps every once in a while we need a reminder that the plague of organized, politicized racism is still out there, and the world must be ever vigilant against it.

E-mail Clay Risen at risenc@yahoo.com.