Thursday, 25 August 2016

Jörg Haider, was he Maverick Austrian Politician?


Dismissed as an eccentric, maverick or mercurial person, Jörg Haider who shaped the Austrian political scene for almost three decades until his tragic end in a motor accident in 2008 remains an enigma even today. What was he really?
Born in 1950 and after donning the mantle of right winger in politics he was elected as the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (German: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs - FPÖ). Under his stewardship from 1986 the FPÖ grew in strength and in the 1999 election it won 27% vote and was included in the National Government formed subsequently. Haider would have been the Federal Chancellor if not for the diplomatic isolation Austria faced over the inclusion of far-right party in general and Haider in particular. Hence he ceded the leadership to a deputy in 2000. Due to differences with the leadership of the party Haider formed milder version of populist rightist party in 2005 and named it as Alliance of the Future of Austria (German: Bündnis Zukunft Österreich -BZÖ). He had a major breakthrough when the September 2008 election gave BZÖ 21 seats in the Parliament. On 11 October 2008 Haider died in a mysterious car accident.
When I did a cosmic analysis of body, mind and spirit of Jörg Haider I found that he was never a maverick but a cool and calculated person. He possessed a deep conscious mind that did phenomenal calculations and he had high degree of contextual leadership. Here are few facts in support of my conclusion:
1.         He used the art of populism to the maximum. His Nazi sympathy was just a ploy to attract attention. His praise of “Orderly employment of Nazi Germany” and description of Nazi concentration camp as punishment centre for criminals brought barrage of criticism but he was tapping on the feelings of the ordinary people who are sympathetic towards Nazis.
2.         As a committed mono culturist he also chided that the social order of Islam is opposed to western values such as human rights and democracy and Muslim religious doctrine is incompatible with Austrian society. This tabbed the harmonious chords in the Austrian psyche which was alarmed by the growing Muslim population in Austria. Moreover he dismissed the notion that Slovenes language must be given equal status In Carinthia province where he was governor. He went to the extent of black-painting Slovenes language in street name boards.
3.         He was a brilliant tactician and debater. Whenever he made xenophobic announcements resulting is strident objections he would express regret but would never recant. As his fortunes were rising he switched to rather milder form of rightist policies to capitalize on the mood changes of the people. His formation of BZÖ was one such brilliant move. Another one was his statement of assurance to Austrian Jews after his electoral victory that there is need not worry, no one need to pack their suitcases and no one has to leave their home.
4.         He also used nuance in differentiating the Jews with the Zionists. While he as an Austrian respected Jewish culture and their achievement he also abhorred the carnage of Lebanese and other Arabs carried out by the Zionists. To register his feelings he travelled to both Baghdad and Tripoli and met with the Arab leaders there.
5.         He was adept in creating waves of enthusiasm and support. He was very popular in his native Carinthia and the rest of Austria. On his death the then Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said, ”He is someone who had shaped the nation’s political landscape for decades”. This is sufficient proof that the wave of enthusiasm he created for liberal rightist policies are going to impact Austria for many more years to come.
Muthu Ashraff
Cosmic Adviser
Mobile:   +94 777 265677
E-mail:    cosmicgems@gmail.com


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