THE mass demonstrations in Vienna this weekend will give some heart to people who believe Austria's reputation has been besmirched by the entry into government of members of the far-right Freedom Party.
Predictably, the main target of the protesters' outrage, the Freedom Party's leader, Joerg Haider, cavalierly dismissed the marchers as 'socialists and everything that crawls or flies left of the socialists'. Ugly words, but characteristic of the 50-year-old politician.
Those protesting within Austria against the Freedom Party, with its undoubted Nazi echoes, are not alone. The 14 other members of the European Union have said they will suspend all bilateral political contacts with Austria, excepting EU business. The reasons for the sanction are clear: such intolerance and xenophobia as represented by the Freedom Party are unacceptable in modern Europe. Strong misgivings have been voiced by the United States; and Israel, not surprisingly, has withdrawn its ambassador.
The historical echo of what is happening in Austria is what has made the political situation there so ultra-sensitive. In addition, Mr Haider's parents were Nazi party members; and he has praised former Waffen SS soldiers as 'decent people'. It is not therefore surprising that this historical resonance should start to ring alarm bells.
But, for all the distastefulness Mr Haider represents, he has not shown himself to be a neo-Nazi. A common view is that he does not himself believe many of his extreme utterances. Time will no doubt show just how ideological, rather than merely opportunist, Mr Haider is. Certainly he can afford to bide his time. Pressure is mounting on the country's new Chancellor, Wolfgang Schuessel, leader of the People's Party, to rein in the ambitions of the Freedom Party. Perhaps by giving its members power and responsibility they will be less able to criticise from the outside. But if this strategy fails, Austria may find itself further isolated by an EU that, for the first time, has shown an appetite to interfere with the domestic politics of a fellow member.
The irony is that, for all the rhetoric from abroad, recent Austrian polls show that the Freedom Party has grown in popularity. If Mr Schuessel's Government collapses under the growing wave of protest and a new election is forced, Mr Haider could yet achieve his ambition of becoming chancellor.
