Blackwood paints Austrians as reactionaries

It's not every day that demonstrators clash with police in riot gear in the quiet Austrian capital of Vienna. But last Fri., Feb. 5, over 50 people were injured when overnight protests against the country's new coalition government turned unexpectedly violent.

The protesters were not alone in their condemnation of the center-right People's Party's recent alliance with the right-wing Freedom Party (FPU), which is led by alleged Nazi sympathizer Jörg Haider. In the wake of the FPU's inclusion in the Austrian government, the United States and Israel have withdrawn their ambassadors from Vienna, while all 14 European Union (EU) member states have downgraded diplomatic relations with their neighbor.

HEINO AGA/NEWSMAKERS Professor Lee Blackwood, GRD '94, (below) thinks Austria's Freedom Party doesn't threaten fundamental democratic values. Others (above) disagree.

In light of these tumultuous events, the Herald sat down with Lee Blackwood, GRD '94, an assistant professor in European history, to discuss what the Freedom Party means for Austria and what the backlash says about European integration.

First and foremost, Blackwood stressed that despite international outcry, the Freedom Party does not threaten fundamental democratic or liberal values. "The FPU is not going to endorse policies which would allow it to be labeled as extremist. I can't envision the FPU saying, `We're going to round up foreigners and kick them out,'" he explained. "Haider's party does in fact present itself as competent [and] technocratic. I don't think this is an issue of trying to challenge basic parameters of Austrian democracy."

ANDREW HEID/YH

This doesn't mean that the party hasn't tapped into some troubling national undercurrents. While Haider has backed off statements which decriminalized the actions of Austrian officers in World War II and praised elements of Hitler's regime, his party's willingness to diminish Austria's culpability in Nazi atrocities strikes a chord with some voters. "In a sense, when Haider gets up and says we don't have to be ashamed of the past, he's speaking to a pretty important feature of postwar Austrian consciousness," Blackwood said. "What you see is a very interesting case of collective amnesia."

At the same time, Blackwood stressed that the FPU's popularity is not founded upon how it rewrites the past, but what it says about the future. In a Europe moving towards integration and open markets, the party's stance against immigration resonates with Austrians fearful of increased competition brought on by the influx of cheap labor. "Austria is extremely prosperous and Haider is playing to people's fears," Blackwood explained. "People are voting for him because he speaks to these fears of immigration, which in turn are linked to the future of Europe." Blackwood labels the party's platform a new breed of right-wing politics—one which is populist and protective, but with a "kinder and gentler face" than its extremist predecessors like Nazism.

And it is the potential spread of this new kind of right-wing politics that Blackwood thinks has the EU reacting so strongly against the Freedom Party's success. "Once you get beyond the revulsion linked to Haider's statements about the past, what you see here underneath the surface is the EU states reacting against the inclusion of a political movement whose demands are extremely dangerous for the future of the EU," Blackwood said. "These issues that Haider has used so adroitly—immigration, fear of declining living standards—are issues which every single one of the EU states faces and will continue to face."

While the EU's stance against Austria conflicts with its practice of not interfering in the domestic politics of its member states, Blackwood believes opposition is a logical position for the EU to take. "If one assumes that in order to maintain Europe's position in the world, integration is in Europe's interest, then this type of reaction to Haider and the entry of his party is all the more understandable," he said. However, while Blackwood lauded integration as an important goal, he noted that the effect the EU's backlash will have on right-wing movements in other countries is far from clear.

Also unclear is what lies in store for Austria itself. EU members have stated that they won't cooperate with the new Austrian leadership. But since key EU decisions require unanimous approval by the organization's member states, Austrian cooperation will ultimately have to be courted. Haider has said that his party wouldn't attempt to block EU action in protest, but it's clear that EU nations cannot neglect the controversial government altogether.

Consequently, while Blackwood stressed that the People's Party decision to ally with the FPU after talks with the social democratic left broke down was "probably not a very prudent decision," he doubted that this alliance would seriously damage Austria's EU standing in the future.

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