France led strong European reaction against the emerging new government in Austria yesterday. The defence ministry in Paris said it was postponing a visit to Vienna by senior officials because of tensions over the prospect of Mr Jorg Haider's Freedom Party entering a coalition government.
France's European Affairs Minister, Mr Pierre Moscovici, said Austria's incoming chancellor, Mr Wolfgang Schussel, of the Austrian People's Party, had "dirtied his hands" by joining the far-right Freedom Party leader Mr org Haider in a "scandalous" pact.
Mr Schussel's move was not even that intelligent because he has been losing votes to Mr Haider's party and could lose even more this way, said Mr Moscovici.
Not surprisingly, the proposed new government was welcomed by France's own extremist party leader, Mr Jean-Marie Le Pen, of the National Front. He hailed the development and praised the courage of Austrian voters.
In Lyon, about 20 activists from a rival far-right party rallied outside the Austrian consulate to show their support for the Freedom Party.
Anxiety within the European Union was underlined by the Belgian Foreign Minister, Mr Louis Michel, who said the EU could do without Austria if necessary.
In an apparent swipe of the position taken by the European Commission and its President, Mr Romano Prodi, Mr Michel said: "We cannot be content with saying, `We'll judge them by their actions'."
The sort of isolation Austria can expect to endure became clearer yesterday. Belgium's French-speaking community said it would suspend "all bilateral contacts" with Austria.
The Israeli government made clear that it would refuse a visa to Mr Haider if he decided to visit the Jewish state.org Haider would not be granted an entry visa should he decide to visit Israel," said Interior Minister, Mr Nathan Sharansky. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre said it was pulling out of a joint project with Austria on tolerance among youth. In a letter to Mr Schussel, the Nazi-hunting centre said such a coalition made it morally impossible to continue the planned programme.
"Neither Mr Wiesenthal nor his centre will allow his name and reputation to be exploited as legitimisation for xenophobia and demagoguery," a spokesman said.
A European rabbinical conference to be held in Vienna in March is to be cancelled over the prospect of the far-right entering the government, said French Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk in an interview to be published in the French daily l'Alsace.
Several Russian newspapers have assailed the West for meddling in Austria's domestic affairs. "Haider's no gift [but] this is a domestic Austrian problem," wrote the Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a newspaper known for its anti-Western editorial line.
The newspaper said threats of sanctions against Austria if Mr Haider's group is allowed in government smacked of a new doctrine whereby the West "lets itself dictate domestic policy to members of the [international] community." It was "an attempt to remove sovereignty as one of the basic principles of international law".