Biography
Austrian politician who has caused a stir in the international
political scene. To some he is a brash, young and hip populist; to others,
a racist and an apologist for Nazism.
He won international notoriety for his anti-immigration stand,
opposition to rapid EU expansion and statements sympathetic to parts of
the Nazi regime. This unleashed a wave of criticism and prompted the 14
other European Union member states to freeze high-level diplomatic
contacts.
To his supporters, Haider is a breath of fresh air, promising a stop to
immigration and insure job security and social benefits; a new breed of
politician who follows through on election promises. He promises to
eliminate corruption, curtail abuses of the welfare state and protect
Austria's national interests from being overrun by illegal immigrants and
unchecked global markets. To his opponents, Haider is a dangerous
right-wing extremist who is exploiting Austria's growing disenchantment
with the current ruling parties to advance his xenophobic, racist and
intolerant politics. Though he consistently denies being anti-Semitic, his
record reveals many statements utilizing Holocaust terminology of
legitimizing Nazi policy. A lawyer by profession, Haider lives on an
inherited 38,000 acre estate in Carinthis with his wife and two daughters,
Ulrike, 22 and Cornelia, 19. His parents were both members of Hitler Youth
in 1929 and his dad became a Nazi SA storm trooper the following year. In
school, Haider was always outspoken with strong opinions and a leader,
elected class president. He met his wife, Claudia, now 44, while studying
law in Vienna. He taught law before entering the political arena. In 1986
he became head of the Freedom Party and that same year inherited from a
great-uncle a $15 million estate once owned by Jews who were forced to
sell the land after the 1939 German annexation of Austria.
Elected provincial governor in 1989, he was forced from office two
years later after publicly praising Nazi labor policies. He remained
active, however, in his party.
On 10/03/1999, his party won 27% of Austria's elections, a move toward
control by far-right extremists. His
right-wing ideology brought him and his Freedom Party into a coalition
government in Austria with People's Party leader Wolfgang Schuessel in
early February, 2000, despite desperate attempts of the EU leaders to keep
him from power. Haider's inflammatory far-right remarks brought a strong
reaction from many Austrians who held protest rallies on the weekend of
2/12/2000, objecting to his politics as being representative of Austria on
the whole.
VIENNA, Feb. 28 — Joerg Haider, the controversial leader of Austria's
far-right Freedom Party, resigned his party office on Monday, according to
the Austrian Press Agency. The report said Haider will retain his post as
governor of Austria's state of Carinthia.
Top
For More Information on the Web:
|
|
AstroDatabank offers this
privately-funded forum for astrologers who want to share
astrological insights in a respectful and educational way.
AstroDatabank does not condone or support comments that are
profane, obscene or discriminatory against anyone’s race, color,
religious creed, national origin, ancestry, gender, disability,
sexual orientation, veteran status or any other similar
category. While we make an effort to remove as soon as we can
any comments that we deem inappropriate for these or other
discretionary reasons, we cannot guarantee that we are always
able to do so in a timely way given the nature of the Internet.
However, we reserve the right to remove comments or to block
participation at our sole discretion and at any time. Please
understand that users’ comments are their own and do not reflect
the views, techniques or interpretations of anyone at
AstroDatabank. We hope that you will use this forum to share
your astrological insights with your colleagues in a respectful
manner and that you will enjoy reading others’ comments on the
chart under discussion. For more information, please read our
legal disclaimer and terms of service.
Where do you want to go now?
|
