European Far-right Parties Want Referendum on Turkey in EU
AFP: VIENNA — Europe's far-right parties want an EU-wide referendum on Turkey's plans to join the current 27-nation bloc, the leader of Austria's populist Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, said Saturday.

Strache, who had invited right-wing parties from Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Slovakia and Sweden to a two-day meeting in the Austrian capital, told a news conference that the parties believed Turkey had no place in Europe and ordinary citizens should be given a say in the matter.

Europe would be "straying down the completely wrong path" if it were to admit "non-European countries" into the European Union, the far-right party leader said.

"That would be the end of the European Union. It would be the beginning of a Euro-Asian-African Union, which goes completely against the project of peace in Europe and must therefore not be allowed," Strache said. >>> AFP | Saturday, October 23, 2010

KRONE: Volksbegehren gegen EU-Beitritt der Türkei geplant: Europas Rechtsparteien planen ein Bürgerbegehren gegen den EU-Beitritt der Türkei. Dies kündigte FPÖ-Chef Heinz-Christian Strache am Samstag nach einem zweitägigen Treffen von Parteienvertretern in Wien an. Die Freiheitlichen und ihre europäischen Gleichgesinnten wollen sich, so Strache, künftig besser koordinieren, um "Fehlentwicklungen in der Europapolitik" entgegenzuwirken. >>> | Samstag, 23. Oktober 2010

A Note to The Telegraph: There Is Nothing Inherently ‘Racist’ or ‘Nazi’ about Wanting to Protect One’s Own Country and Culture from the Onslaught of Islam!
Photo of Heinz Christian Strache courtesy of Google Images
Watch Telegraph video: Austria’s Heinz Christian Strache >>>
THE TELEGRAPH: If ever there was an acceptable face of the Far Right in Europe, Mario Miksch is it.

Clad in a grey blazer, white shirt and tie, the bespectacled 60-year-old estate agent looks the picture of respectability as he sips white wine in a smart Vienna watering hole.

Last week, though, he helped reveal a new, darker side to Viennese cafe society as he joined millions of other well-to-do Austrians in voting for the Freedom Party of Heinz-Christian Strache - the rising star of Austria's extreme Right.

"I voted for him to stop immigrants taking over the social welfare system that serves this country so well," said Mr Miksch, until now a supporter of Austria's centre-left Social Democrats.

"Many other middle class people did too, although most don't admit. It's not that he's a Nazi though, and nor am I. I have no problems with people who integrate well."

When it comes to voting for Mr Strache, however, the phrase "I'm not a racist but..." becomes a much more heavily qualified than normal.

The perma-tanned former dental technician has run one of the unabashedly xenophobic and anti-Islamic campaigns ever seen in a European election, based mainly on dire warnings that the land of the Sound of Music is becoming the land of the sound of mosques.

He has demanded new restrictions on Austria's predominantly Turkish immigrant community, described women in Islamic dress as "female ninjas", and urged a ban on the building of minarets to prevent Muslims turning "Vienna into Istanbul."

Mr Strache insists he is nothing but a patriot and claims some of his best friends are Turkish; but his critics claim that some of his other friends have been neo-fascists, including three Neo-Nazis with whom he was allegedly photographed with in the late 1980s.

Yet while opponents say he is little more than a bovver-boy in a suit, Mr Strache's party polled 18 per cent in last Sunday's parliamentary elections, mainly at the expense of the mainstream Social Democrats and Conservatives, whose ruling coalition is seen to have ignored rising concerns about immigration. What Is It about Austria? Why the Birthplace of Hitler Has Just Voted for the Far-Right >>> By Colin Freeman in Vienna | October 4, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
I'm Not a Nazi, and I Like Kebabs, Says Far Right Leader Heinz-Christian Strache: Ever since last week's Austrian parliamentary elections, it has been a subject of fierce debate in the country's beerkellers and cafes. When does raising three fingers in the air make you a fascist - and when does it just mean "three beers please?" >>> By Colin Freeman in Vienna | October 4, 2008

In Pictures:
The Rise of Austria’s Far Right >>>

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HC Strache: 'Turkey Should Not Be a Member of EU'
Photo of Heinz Christian Strache courtesy of Google Images
PRESS TV (IR): Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party, says Turkey should not be allowed to join the European Union.

“Not now, not in 100 and not in 200 years” can Turkey become a member of the EU, said Strache Tuesday in his first news conference since his Freedom Party finished third in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Freedom Party got 18.2 percent of votes - a higher showing than the previous elections when it acquired 11 percent, AP reported.

No party received a majority in elections. The Social Democrats and the Conservative People's Party finished first and second but scored their lowest results in history in the general elections.

He added that non-EU members should not be allowed access to Austria's social service system. 'Turkey Should Not Be a Member of EU' >>> | October 1, 2008

My Essays & Writing on Turkey in the EU:
Turkey in the EU >>> Mark Alexander | September 30, 2005

More Reasons Why Turkey and the EU Should Not Join in Union! >>> Mark Alexander | October 1, 2005

Keep Turkey Out of Europe! >>> Mark Alexander | December 3, 2005

LE MONDE:
"Les extrême droites en Europe se sont diversifiées" : Le succès de l'extrême droite en Autriche, où les deux partis qui s'en réclament ont totalisé 28 % des voix, a-t-il valeur d'exemple en Europe ?

C'est difficile de déterminer une tendance visible dans toute l'Europe. Au début des années 1980, la vague des partis d'extrême droite formait un ensemble assez cohérent autour des partis populistes xénophobes scandinaves, du FN français, de la Ligue du Nord italienne, du FPÖ autrichien, du Vlams Beelang en Flandres. On a davantage aujourd'hui des situations nationales éclatées. Il s'agit de partis de nature différentes et si certains d'entre eux ont le vent en poupe, ils butent sur l'obstacle du pouvoir.

L'extrême droite autrichienne a toujours existé. Après la guerre, elle s'est reconstituée à la fois en prenant des électeurs chez ceux qui ont toujours formé la famille "deutschenationale", mais aussi à travers les transferts d'électeurs, voire de militants venus de la gauche.

Le phénomène politique n'est pas le même ailleurs. On a vu apparaître des partis politiques issus de la droite classique qui se radicalisent pour devenir des formations d'extrême droite sans avoir de racines à l'extrême droite. En Suisse, l'UDC est un parti de gouvernement qui, à un moment donné, prend un autre positionnement politique sous la direction de Blocher. Le Parti du peuple danois et le Parti du progrès norvégien sont des droites populistes xénophobes radicalisées, mais qui sont partie intégrante de la scène politique traditionnelle. Les pays scandinaves ne les considèrent pas comme étant d'extrême droite. Ils les appellent des nouvelles droites. >>> Jean-Yves Camus, chercheur à l'Institut des relations internationales et stratégiques (IRIS) | 30.09.2008

THE SCOTSMAN:
A Scathing (and Unfair?) Attack on the Austrians from Scotland! >>> By Alan Hall in Austria | October 1, 2008

ZEIT ONLINE:
Wunsch nach Führung >>> Von Martin Gantner | 1. Oktober 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
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Islam: ”The Fascism of the Twenty-first Century” – HC Strache
Photo courtesy of Google Images
THE GUARDIAN: • Strache seen as further to right than mentor Haider 
• Weakened main party faces coalition dilemma

He has been filmed in forests, carrying arms and wearing paramilitary fatigues in the company of banned German neo-Nazis. Islam, he says, is "the fascism of the 21st century". He was photographed apparently giving a three-fingered neo-Nazi salute - though he says he was ordering three beers.

He mocks gay people; wants a ministry for the deportation of immigrants; says "Vienna must not become Istanbul"; hopes to repeal laws banning Nazi revivalism, and is pushing for a constitutional ban on the building of minarets. Heinz-Christian Strache, a former dental technician, is the new star of Austrian politics and the new poster boy of Europe's extreme right.

"I was never a neo-Nazi, and never will be," Strache has insisted. But when he sued the Vienna news weekly Profil for defamation, the court ruled that Strache could fairly be said to display "an affinity to national-socialist thinking".

Strache, 39, led his Freedom party to 18% of the vote in an early general election on Sunday. His former boss and mentor-turned-rival, Jörg Haider, single-handedly steered his breakaway far-right Movement for Austria's Future to 11% - meaning that almost one in three Austrians who voted opted for the extreme right.

"A unique case among the western democracies," said Profil yesterday as Viennese liberals reeled from the results of an election that put the far right comfortably ahead of the mainstream conservatives of the Austrian People's party and neck-and-neck with the Social Democrats, who narrowly won the election.

It will be very difficult for any party to muster a parliamentary majority. The only options are for the Social Democrats to invite Strache into government, or to form another "grand coalition" with the Christian Democrats. Such a coalition collapsed in June after 18 months in office, and another attempt could fire a bigger protest vote for Strache next time. Austria in Crisis as Far Right Win 29% of Vote >>> By Ian Traynor, Europe editor | September 30, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
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The Jolt that Europe Needed?: Heinz Christian Strache Claims Victory in Austria
Photo of Heinz Christian Strache courtesy of Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Google Images (Austria)
THE INDEPENDENT: He has been linked to neo-Nazi groups, says that women in Islamic dress are "female ninjas" and wants to take Austria out of the EU. But after his huge gains in yesterday's general election, the far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache was today bidding to become his country's next Chancellor.

The extreme-right romped home with a record 29 per cent of the vote in Sunday's Austrian poll, inflicting disaster on the country's two main established parties, the Social Democrats and centre-right People's Party, whose grand coalition government collapsed earlier this year due to infighting.

In their worst performance since 1945, the Social Democrats secured 30 percent of the vote and their conservative rivals a mere 25 percent. With Austria now in political turmoil, the two parties were yesterday facing the unwelcome choices of forming another highly unpopular grand coalition or joining forces with the far right.

The xenophobic Freedom Party, presided over by 39-year-old Strache, won 18 percent of the far right vote with the remainder going to veteran right winger Jörg Haider's Alliance for the Future of Austria. It was the Austrian far right's best performance since the Second World War.

Yesterday Strache, a dental technician who sports a permanent tan, claimed to be the true victor in the election. "We are the winners of election night," he told Austrian television. Demanding a role in any future Austrian government, he also announced that he was interested in becoming the country's next Chancellor. Far-Right's Strache Claims Austria Victory >>> By Tony Paterson in Berlin | September 29, 2008

FINANCIAL TIMES:
Austria Sees Return of Extreme Right >>> By Eric Frey in Vienna and Haig Simonian in Zurich | September 29, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Muslim Graves Desecrated as Austria Swings to the Right: Police are blaming far-Right extremists for desecrating a Muslim cemetery in Austria, in the same weekend that the political parties of the far-Right made huge gains in the country's general election.
More than 90 graves were severely damaged at the cemetery in Traun, near Linz, some time between Friday night and this morning, in what police believe was an organised action.

The offenders sprayed Jewish symbols such as the Star of David over some of the graves, but detectives believe that this may have been a bid to disguise the motives of extremists driven by a hatred of Muslim immigrants. >>> Bojan Pancevski | September 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) >>>

Austria’s Far-Right: Now a Powerful Political Force
THE TELEGRAPH: Austria's far-Right has become the country's most powerful political force in an election that gave mainstream parities their lowest level of support since the Second World War.

According to early poll results, leaders of the country's two far-Right parties who had campaigned on anti-immigrant and anti-European Union platforms, took almost 30 per cent of the vote to deliver a stunning blow to Austria's political establishment.

The Freedom Party, headed by Heinz-Christian Strache, who was accused of xenophobia during the election campaign, took 18.4 per cent of the vote.

A new far-Right party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria, founded by Jorg Haider, Mr Strache's former mentor before a 2005 split from the Freedom Party, won 9.7 per cent of the vote.

The election has been a catastrophe for Austria's moderate parties, with the centrist Social Democrats capturing only 29.5 percent and the conservative People's Party taking only 26 per cent of the vote.

Both parties, which have ruled Austria either alone or in coalition since the end of the Second World War, faced the worst election results in their history as their votes dropped under 30 per cent each for the first time.

Austrians went to the polls after a "grand coalition" between the Social Democrats and the People's Party collapsed after 18 months of a government that was paralysed by constant disputes and rifts.

Most Austrian commentators expect that the Social Democrats will try tod form a new government by either attempting to revive the grand coalition or by entering into a deal with the far-Right, a move that could provoke international condemnation. Austria Election Delivers Gains for Far-Right >>> By Andreas Sam in Vienna and Bruno Waterfield | September 28, 2008

FORBES:
Austria Far Right Surges to Historic High: VIENNA - The far right surged to almost a third of the vote in Austria's parliamentary election on Sunday, complicating prospects for the biggest mainstream party, the Social Democrats, to forge a stable governing coalition. >>> Reuters | September 28, 2008

EURO NEWS:
Haider Blames EU Interference for Austria’s Isolation in 2000 >>> | September 17, 2008

NEWS 24:
Austria Swings to the Right: Vienna - Austria veered sharply to the right in snap Parliamentary elections on Sunday, with its two ruling parties each losing significant ground to the far-right, preliminary estimates showed. >>> SA | September 28, 2008

STUFF.CO.NZ:
Rightists Surge, Main Parties Sag in Austria Vote >>> Reuters | September 29, 2008

AFP:
Austria Swings to the Right in Snap Elections: VIENNA — Austria's two ruling parties, the Social Democrats and conservatives, received a severe drubbing in a snap general election here Sunday, which was marked by a resurgence of the far-right. >>> | September 28. 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Heinz Christian Strache: … people were scared to see women in burkas running around “like female Ninjas”. “Many decent people have come here and they integrated: Poles, Hungarians, Croats and also Serbs. We are all European brothers because we do not want to become Islamised.”

His disdain for Islam and Muslim customs even extends to culinary matters, demanding that “one should not roast mutton in council flats. I would also not grill a wild pig in Istanbul.” >>> Bojan Pancevski in Vienna | September 29, 2008

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Gains for Far Right Predicted in Austria
THE WASHINGTON POST: VIENNA, Austria -- Austrians began voting in parliamentary elections Sunday that analysts said could bolster the standing of the country's two right-wing parties.

But with possibly more than half a million citizens mailing in their ballots or dropping them off in election wards other than their own, the day may end without a clear winner. Undecided voters could also sway predictions.

The governing coalition between the conservative People's Party and the center-left Social Democrats crumbled in July after months of bickering. What followed was a summerlong election campaign involving 10 parties on a national level. Four less-known groups are on the ballot in several districts.

On the eve of Sunday's election, the two power-sharing blocs were running neck and neck for the top spot. But neither looked likely to secure an absolute majority.

Instead, experts said disgruntled voters may reach out _ largely in protest _ to the rightist Freedom Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria: groups known for their populist, anti-immigration rhetoric.

"Definitely the parties in government _ the Social Democrats and the Christian conservatives _ will lose" votes, said Peter Filzmaier, a respected Austrian political commentator, adding that both could see their worst results since 1945.

"The so-called Freedom Party, as well as the Alliance for the Future of Austria, will be a big winner," Filzmaier predicted. Gains for Far Right Predicted in Austria >>> By Veronika Oleksyn, The Associated Press | September 28, 2008

JERUSALEM POST:
High Stakes for Israel in Austrian Election: The outcome of Sunday's Austrian national elections will present a litmus test of the new government's ability to resist implementing the largest European gas deal with Iran. In 2007, the partially state-owned Austrian oil company OMV cut a preliminary €22 billion deal with the Islamic Republic to gain access to its South Par gas field. >>> By Benjamin Weinthal, Berlin | September 25, 2008

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Austria Braced for Right-wing Surge
THE GUARDIAN / THE OBSERVER: The man who has inherited Jorg Haider's mantle as the figurehead of Austria's far right is expected to scoop up a fifth of the popular vote in national elections today in the latest advance for a European party campaigning on anti-immigration policies.

The dramatic rise of Heinz-Christian Strache and the once ailing Freedom Party, formerly led by Haider, has accompanied growing Austrian sentiment against foreigners, economic woes and a widespread disillusionment with the two main centrist parties.

Today's expected results will be seen as a triumph for Strache, a politician who has made a virtue of being even tougher on immigrants than his party's former leader. Polls have suggested that substantial numbers of the young and elderly, blue-collar workers and middle classes will turn out to vote for the man who strengthened his popularity through slogans such as: 'If you want an apartment, all you need is a headscarf.' Austria Braced for Right-wing Surge >>> Peter Beaumont and Michael Leidig in Vienna | Sunday September 28 2008

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Right-Wing to Do Well in Austrian Elections
THE TELEGRAPH: As Austrians head to the polls on Sunday, an economic downturn coupled with rising anti-immigrant feeling makes a swing to the right look all but inevitable.

Surveys on the eve of the Sept 28 general elections show the far-right Freedom Party and the Alliance for Austria's Future capturing between 25 and 27 per cent of the vote–something unmatched since Jörg Haider led extreme rightists to a 27 per cent victory in 1999.

Now, with inflation at a 15-year-high of 3.9 per cent and a resurgent xenophobia helping stir voter passions, the country is teetering in political uncertainty.

"Xenophobic feelings are a lot stronger in Austria than in other EU countries," said Helmut Weixler, European parliamentary spokesperson for the Greens.

"A large part of the population has problems [accepting] immigration, and guys like Haider and [Heinz-Christian] Strache exploit those populist feelings. They're very good at that."

Mr Strache, who is 39 and the new face of Austria's virulently anti-foreigner right wing–his Freedom Party promotes slogans like "Vienna must not become Istanbul!" and "Home instead of Islam"–made great strides in elections in 2006 calling for Austria to expel all illegal immigrants and close the doors to new arrivals.

Particularly effective in whipping up the public's fear of foreigners is Kronen Zeitung, an arch-right tabloid run by Hans Dichand that reaches some 40 per cent of the population and wields enormous political influence. Far-right to Do Well in Austrian Elections >>> By Michael Levitin in Berlin | September 27, 2008

TIME:
Austria’s Far-Right on the Rise >>> By Andrew Purvis | September 19, 2008

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Austrian Far-Right in Comeback
TVNZ: Austria's far-right Freedom Party is ready to re-enter government after three and a half years in opposition and the two main parties must decide if they will do business with it after this month's election, its leader Heinz-Christian Strache says. 
 


When Freedom first joined a national government in 2000 under then party boss Joerg Haider, its anti-immigrant stance so alarmed Austria's European Union partners that they briefly ceased co-operation with the Alpine member state. 
 


Haider has since left to form a splinter party.

But Freedom, which rails against the EU and has demanded a halt to immigration and a ministry for repatriating foreigners, is polling around 18% and could play an important role after the September 28 election. 
 


At 28% and 26% respectively in the latest poll, the Social Democrats and conservative People's Party - partners in an unhappy coalition which has survived less than two years - are set to win less than 60% combined for the first time since World War Two. 



"Which partner is ready to enter into government with us while letting us keep our true values?" Strache said in the interview next to a rain-sodden campaign stand, encircled by young and middle-aged men. 
 


"When there is a partner like this then it makes sense to be in government. When there is no partner it makes no sense," he said, as supporters took pictures of him on their mobile phones. 



Next interior minister?

The coalition between the centre-left Social Democrats and centre-right Austrian People's Party collapsed in July following disagreements about everything from privatisation to health reform to European Union policy.

"Both have said they can't bear to enter into a coalition with Freedom," Strache said, adding that he wants his party to become the third-largest in Austria in the election, ahead of the environmentalist Greens.

Strache, a 39-year-old former dental technician, has put Freedom back on a hard-right path after Haider left to form the rival Alliance for Austria's Future in 2005. Austrian Far-Right in Comeback >>> | September 17, 2008

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Austria about to Turn Sharp Right?
DEUTSCHE WELLE: Fed up with government bickering and growing economic uncertainty, Austrian voters could hand the far right big gains in general elections on Sunday.

If opinion polls prove correct, the Austrian far-right may notch large gains in general elections on Sunday, Sept 28.

Austria's voters appear to be fed up with rising inflation (at 3.9 percent, a 15-year high), poor integration of the country's large immigrant population, and the inability of the current government to do much about either.

The combined poll numbers of Austria's two far right-parties, the Freedom Party and the Alliance for Austria's Future are hovering around 25 percent. That would represent the best draw for the Austrian far-right since 1999, when then-Freedom Party (and now Alliance) leader Jörg Haider stunned Europe by garnering 27 percent.

Such a tally might well leave Austria's neighbors aghast, but one pollster, Andreas Kirchhofer of IMAS, told news agency Reuters that Austrians may be casting their votes against their current leaders more than for the rightists.

"They are fed up with the left-right coalition," he said. "They want another kind of government, but they don't really know exactly what that should look like." Disenchanted Austrian Voters Could Turn to Far Right >>> |September 26, 2008

TIMESONLINE:
Strong Support for Strache and Haider in Austria: Heinz Christian Strache: “We must not allow our own sons to be insulted as ‘pigeaters' in our schools and our daughters to be exposed to the greedy stares and gropings of whole hordes of immigrants.” / “Homeland instead of Islam.” / “Vienna must not become Istanbul.” >>> | September 26, 2008

THE INDEPENDENT:
Austria Opens the Polls to 16-Year-Olds: Austria becomes the first country in the European Union to grant its 16-year-olds the right to vote in a general election this weekend but the move has provoked widespread controversy and criticism, even from the teenagers heading for the ballot box for the first time. >>> By Tony Paterson in Berlin | September 26, 2008

EURO NEWS:
Östereichs zwei rechte Parteien rechnen mit reichlich Zulauf: Vor der österreichischen Parlamentswahl am Sonntag dürfte bei den vielen Unbekannten nur eines sicher sein: Die beiden Parteien am rechten Rand können mit reichlich Zulauf rechnen. Schließlich wird dieser Urnengang zwei Jahre vorfristig nötig, weil die große Koalition aus ÖVP und SPÖ kläglich gescheitert ist. Gelegentliche Anmerkungen von Volkes Hand wie hier “ Nazis raus” auf ein FPÖ-Plakat geschrieben, kann man eher als Ausdruck von Hilflosigkeit werten. >>> 25. September 2008

Heinz Christian Strache: Website und Bio

Dr. Jörg Haider: Website und Lebenslauf

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