Irish `fair, but Austria wronged' by EU reaction to election

The Austrian ambassador to Ireland, Mr Paul Leifer, has said the Irish Government has been "extremely correct and fair" where the new coalition in his country is concerned.

"We very much appreciate the cautious approach of the Irish Government to the issues involved," he said. However, he did not wish to comment on whether Ireland should take part in proposed bilateral boycotts of Austria. "We have no way of knowing what pressure is being brought to bear on the Irish Government [by the EU]," he said.

Mr Leifer said that the way Austria had been treated by the EU in recent days had implications for all small countries in the Union. He was concerned at the lack of solidarity shown a member-state by the EU Presidency and queried the legitimacy of its statement on the new Austrian government.

The statement, issued on behalf of member-states, was prepared without consulting Austria, he said, and it had condemned the new government before it was even formed. "It has done us wrong. What proof is there that Austria violated any EU treaties?" he said.

He also queried the use of the phrase "right-wing" to describe Mr Jorg Haider's Freedom Party. "What proof do you have?" he asked. He said people in Austria were "very unhappy" with things Mr Haider had said in the past and that the reason his party had received 25 per cent of the vote was because of the domestic political situation. People outside did not understand the political traditions of Austria, he said.

They "totally ignore what he means in terms of democratic policy. Forty-seven per cent of workers voted for him, which should tell you something about the state of dissatisfaction with the outgoing government," he said. "Austrians know Mr Haider. They know he is very lax about throwing words around. They don't take everything he says seriously.

"Some people in Ireland thrive in a pub atmosphere where they make strong statements. That's the sort of tradition Mr Haider comes from. But to condemn a whole people as fascist and right-wing [because he wins votes] is outrageous," he said.

What they now had in Austria was "a democratically legitimated changeover from a left-centre government to a right-centre government."

The ambassador was concerned that the international reaction might make the situation in Austria more difficult. If they had acceded to international wishes, "the only option would be new elections which would have meant Mr Haider getting the No 1 vote. It would have a counterproductive effect," he said. "It also calls into question how committed the EU is to democratic values."

He said he felt that reaction to the new government in some European countries was dictated by a desire of politicans in those countries to distance themselves from their own right, in anticipation of forthcoming elections. "Just to bash this little country, Austria, because it has formed a government democratically is not in the European spirit. It violates the spirit of co-operation and solidarity in the EU," he said.

It may be a spur-of-the-moment response, he speculated. "Maybe they are not aware what it could do to Austria or for Eurosceptics in other countries as well as to the EU itself," he said.

The EU had allowed other countries "to trample on Austria", which was in contrast to the EU response when fascist ministers were included in Italy's Berlusconi government or when communist ministers, one rumoured to be Stalinist, were included in France's socialist government of the early 1980s. "Where was the democratic consciousness of Europe then?" he asked.

It made him wonder whether its size meant Austria was being treated differently. "It is a small country with no chance of avoiding being bashed," he said, and this had implications for small countries in the EU.

He dismissed as "nonsense" comparisons between the rise of Adolf Hitler and Mr Haider. "It makes a good headline but has absolutely no justification," he said. He drew attention to the latter section of the declaration signed by both parties to the new government and quoted from it.

"Austria accepts her responsibility arising out of the tragic history of the 20th century and the horrendous crimes of the National Socialist regime. Our country is facing up to the light and dark sides of its past and to the deeds of all Austrians, good and evil, as its responsibility.

"Nationalism, dictatorship and intolerance brought war, xenophobia, bondage, racism and mass murder. The singularity of the crimes of the Holocaust which are without precedent in history are an exhortation to permanent alertness against all forms of dictatorship and totalitarianism," he read.

"We take justified concerns very, very seriously, which is why both parties in the government have signed that statement of principles," he said.