•
running away from national politics,
just making a new constellation in our
party leadership," he said.
Asked if he still hoped to be chan-
cellor one day, he replied: "I do not
exclude it."
Haider denied that he was stepping
down as the result of political pres-
sure. "We are accustomed to making
our own decisions," he said.
For most Austrians, the charismatic
50-year-old politician is the embodi-
ment of the FPO. Haider took over
party leadership in 1986 and, with his
populist policies playing on xenopho-
bia and promising a return to tradi-
tional values, .transformed the party
from a minuscule political force into
the country's second largest party.
He said his resignation was intend-
ed to dispel speculation that he was
pulling the strings from Carinthia,
Austria, but friends and foes alike said
Haider certainly will continue to wield
political power.
"His influence will still be felt in
the party — and this is for the good,"
Peter Sichrovsky, an FPO member of
the European Parliament and one of
the few Austrian Jews known to sup-
port the party, told the BBC.
He called foreign reaction to
Haider "hysteria" that "no one takes
seriously." Sichrovsky, who before he
associated with Haider authored a
best-selling book, Born Guilty, about
the children of Nazis, praised Haider
and the FPO for "ending a thoroughly
corrupt regime."
"Change is the basis of democracy,"
he said. "We are the second and third
generations after the war — we are
responsible for our democracy." Many
commentators said Haider's decision
could actually be designed as a means
for him to consolidate power.
Vienna's conservative Die Presse
newspaper called it a shrewd move
that would enable Haider to distance
himself from unpopular government
decisions such as planned tax increases
and to position himself for the next
election, due within four years.
•
BBC correspondent Katya Adler
agreed, noting that while the FPO
•
made a strong showing as an opposi-
•
tion party, it so far has made "a feeble
• •
impression in government, breaking
•
several of its key election promises,
such as not to increase taxes or raise
the minimum pension age."
•
By remaining nominally based in
•
Carinthia, Haider can also disassociate
himself from errors committed by the
•
FPO ministers in government, who
have been branded "a gang of ama-
teurs" by opponents. ❑
Family Circle
!PAVIA I L."Y'
i t t:1
invites you to join parents and professionals at
fifth annual luncheon seminar
12:30 Kosher kinch
Sunday, March 12, 2000
1:00 - 3:00 Parent and
Professional seminar
3:00 - 4:00 Parent session
CHILDHOOD DISORDERS
AFFECTING SOCIALIZATION
D. Doh & Betty Kahn Bldg.
Jewish Community Center
6600 West Maple, West Bloomfield
Featuring
Eugene & Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community Campus
DR. MAX WIZNITZER
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Cost: $5.00 per person
Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital
payable to Agency for Jewish Education.
Questions/Registration:
Call AM at (248) 354-1050.
University Hospitals of Cleveland
Case Western Reserve University
2 NIRIM units
for this session
The Friendship Circle Respite Care is available for
children with special needs and sibling babysitting.
12:45 - 4:00 p.m. Pre-registration mandatory. Call
Bassie Shemtov (248) 855-1212
FIREPLACE
BARBECUE
:(248) 855-0303
30903 Orchard Lake. Rd.
Farmington Hills Located in the plaza
between 13 & 14 Mile by the Gap
co ■ SpOri:sere
Agency for Jewish Education - Opening the Doors
Special Education Partnership Program
Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Parenting
Center of Congregation Shaarey Zedek
JARC, A Jewish Association for Residential Care
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
Jewish Family Service
Jewish Vocational Service
The Jewish News
The Michigan Board of Rabbis
The Friendship Circle
A =wiz;
An Anonymous Donor
United Hebrew Schools Woman's Auxiliary of the
Agency for Jewish Education
Broilmaster D3CP
barbecues
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2000