[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

                                 ______
                                 

                            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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