[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 28, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E481-E482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STANLEY B. GREENBERG HIGHLIGHTS HAIDER'S CONTINUING RACISM, ANTI-
SEMITISM, AND XENOPHOBIC IN AUSTRIA
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HON. TOM LANTOS
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 28, 2001
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, in the last Congress we voted to adopt a
resolution which expressed the serious concern of this house for the
inclusion of the FPO political party in the government of Austria. At
that time, the House expressed ``its opposition to the anti-democratic,
racist and xenophobic views that have been expressed by Jeorg Haider
and other leaders of the FPO, and, because of these publicly expressed
views, to state its opposition to the party's participation in the
Austrian Government.''
It was my hope in introducing that resolution and in bringing about
the debate it in this house that the leaders of the FPO and the people
of Austria would move away from the racist, anti-Semitic, and
xenophobic rhetoric that has so tarnished and tainted the image of
Austria. I regret, Mr. Speaker, that our efforts have not had their
fully desired effect, but there has been some indication of progress--
not with the FPO and its leader Jeorg Haider, but perhaps with the
people of Vienna.
In yesterday's issue of The New York Times, American pollster and
political analyst Stanley B. Greenberg--the husband of our
distinguished colleague from Connecticut, Rosa DeLauro--wrote a
particularly insightful piece about his own personal experiences in the
last few weeks in Austria. His report indicates that the venomous anti-
Semitism, anti-foreign rhetoric continues to pollute the speeches of
Jeorg Haider and other leaders of the FPO. At the same time the people
of Vienna in last Sunday's mayoral election gave the FPO 8 percent
fewer votes than the party received in the previous election. I welcome
that trend, but I also wish to note the one fifth--20 percent--of the
voters in Vienna, a sophisticated and cosmopolitan city of
international reputation, cast their ballots for the FPO and its racist
and xenophobic platform.
Mr. Speaker, I submit Stan Greenberg's excellent personal essay from
the March 27th issue of The New York Times to be placed in the Record,
and I urge my colleagues to give thoughtful consideration to his
excellent article.
[From The New York Times, March 27, 2001]
A Strange Waltz in Vienna
(By Stanley B. Greenberg)
Vienna.--I am an American Jew, yet found myself in Vienna
under attack by Jorg Haider, one of Europe's more notorious
anti-Semitic politicians. I was in Vienna doing what I
normally do, conducting polls and providing advice to
political leaders and their campaigns--this time for the
Social Democratic candidate for mayor, the incumbent, Michael
Haupl. I had provided similar services for Bill Clinton and
Al Gore, Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela and Ehud Barak. As a
rule, I keep to the background, offering my ideas privately
and far away from the TV cameras. Vienna was to be different.
Mr. Haider led the Freedom Party to prominence by attacking
foreigners and Jews, expressing admiration for some of
Hitler's policies and championing some populist ideas of his
own. His party got 27.9 percent of the vote here in the local
election in 1996.
Speaking before his party convention, Mr. Haider declared,
``Haupl has a strategist called Greenberg,'' eliciting
giggles in the room. ``He specially flew him in from the East
Coast.'' For Mr. Haider, ``East Coast'' means New York City
and powerful Jews, the people who brought down Austrian
president Kurt Waldheim and have tried to extract reparations
for the Jewish victims of Nazi aggression. Mr. Haider spoke
more about the foreigner, then intoned: ``Dear friends, you
have the choice on 25 March between spin-doctor Greenberg
from the East Coast or the Viennese hearts.'' This was
greeted by massive applause.
I was not alone in the line of fire; Haider had singled out
Ariel Muzicant, leader of the Jewish community in Vienna, for
derision. He scoffed at his given name, which is also the
name of a popular washing powder. And Mr. Haider wondered
mockingly how ``anyone with such a name can have such dirty
hands,'' economically summoning up the ``pollution'' fears
and class-struggle stereotypes of 1930's anti-Semitism.
Mr. Haider's candidate in Vienna, Helene Partik-Pable,
spoke of foreigners who ``won't integrate.'' ``They carry on
with their own life-style,'' she said. ``That leads to
tensions involving noise, dirt and so on.'' She further
declared, ``We need to introduce zero immigration.''
My first reaction was a certain pride in being attacked by
Mr. Haider. But that was bravado, on the whole. The refrain
of ``East Coast'' was unnerving.
One Saturday, after touring the city, I went to the
Naschmarkt. The air carried many inviting scents--Austrain
sausages on the grill, and Chinese stir-fry, the fruity tang
of olives pickling in open tubs, Turkish doner rotating on a
vertical skewer. So many aromas, most of which Mr. Haider
would wish away. I accidentally bumped into Mayor Haupl, who
was campaigning there. A few of the TV cameras turned to film
me, and I did my best to disappear without seeming to pull a
trench coat across my face. I was determined to avoid
becoming a TV image two weeks before the election.
The notion entered my mind of other Jews hiding, seeking
anonymity, in an earlier age. But I soon realized I was in a
different time. I have been given the chance--denied my
relatives in Eastern Europe, decades ago--to fight. With
polls and focus groups, I helped develop issues and themes to
deny Mr. Haider what he trives on, namely voters frustrated
and alienated and looking for foreigners to blame. The Social
Democrats made a new effort to harness social changes that
many Austrians find frightening--by encouraging high-
technology employment, investing more in schools and public
transport and enhancing retirement security.
I also came to realize that I was not alone in Austria. Mr.
Haider closed his campaign with a flurry of neighborhood
rallies continuing the refrain about the ``East Coast.'' The
Social Democrats finished with a rally of some 2000
supporters jammed into the Museumsquartier, the Hapsburgs'
former stables. Mayor Haupl concluded his last campaign
address with a warning about Mr. Haider: ``His attacks
against the East Coast and against our consultant Greenberg,
against the president of the Jewish community'' make him
``personally responsible'' for ``anti-Semitism'' ``This
policy is against all of us,'' Mayor Haupl said.
On Sunday Vienna voters made their choices. Mr. Haider's
Freedom Party lost almost one-third of its support,
plummeting
[[Page E482]]
eight percentage points from the previous high. The Social
Democrats made historic gains, taking up those eight points
and winning an absolute majority on the city council.
I could focus on the fact that, last Sunday, one in five
people in one of Europe's most tolerant and progressive
cities voted for the anti-Semite. But I prefer to dwell on
the fact that I had the opportunity to help drive back one of
the dark forces of our time and I did not fight alone.
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