|
Austrian far-right leader Haider killed in crash
Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider, a charismatic politician who helped bring anti-immigrant politics into the European mainstream and sparked outrage with comments praising Nazi policies, was killed in a car accident on Saturday. Haider, 58, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Austria party (BZOe), was at the wheel of his official car in the early hours of Saturday when it veered off the road south of Klagenfurt, the capital of the province of Carinthia where he was governor.Last month, after years of retreat into provincial politics, he helped Austria's far right win about 30 percent of the vote in a parliamentary election, mining discontent over feuding centrist governing parties, inflation and immigration. His spokesman Stefan Petzner said Haider, who was governor of Carinthia province, had been driving to his rural home near Klagenfurt early on Saturday morning for a family gathering to mark his mother's 90th birthday when the accident occurred. The government car he was driving skidded out of control after he overtook another vehicle. His car hit a concrete traffic barrier and rolled over several times, police said. Haider was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital. Haider shook up Austria's stiff, formal political scene with his blunt and engaging manner. He struck a chord with ordinary people and was on good personal terms even with political foes. Posted by: Fred 2008-10-12 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=252489 |