Austria bashing: An EU blunder

The unprecedented political and diplomatic isolation of Austria by its 14 European Union partners is not only an irresponsible overreaction but also raises serious questions about the Union's right to interfere in its member's internal affairs.

The repeated public snubbing and humiliation of Austria's government representatives such as walking out on its social affairs minister during an EU meeting in Lisbon or cold- shouldering its foreign affairs minister in Brussels is not only undignified and childish but insulting in the extreme.

Voicing concerns about the inclusion of Mr. Haider's right wing party in Austria's coalition government is one thing but blackballing, ostracizing and even boycotting an entire nation is quite another.

The European Union's highhanded condemnation of the Austrian government is all the more astonishing since no such concerns were voiced in the past over the inclusion of a neo-fascist party in a Berlusconi cabinet or the Communist Party's participation in French and Italian governments.

Likewise, Israel's protest withdrawal of its ambassador does not sound altogether convincing since a number of its own coalition governments did not hesitate to include extremist or right-wing parties and other assorted religious fringe groups.

By all accounts, Austria's conservative People's Party and Mr. Haider's Freedom Party were democratically elected and the resulting coalition government should have been judged by its acts and deeds and not the reputation of Mr. Haider or his Freedom Party.

Neither the election campaign platform of Mr. Haider's freedom Party nor the new coalition government's program contained anything that could be even remotely construed as anti European or otherwise violating any of the Union's established principles of good governance of human rights.

Attempts to portray Austria as xenophobic also overlook the fact that the immigration laws in other EU nations are no less stringent or that with the proposed EU enlargement, similar concerns are being voiced in other countries about an uncontrolled influx of immigrants from new member states.

As evidenced by public opinion polls, efforts to depict Austria as a pariah state and calls to boycott its vital 14 billion dollar tourist industry are bound to fuel anti-European resentments not only in Austria itself but also in existing and future member states.

The EU's threat of sanctions against Austria not only lacks a legal basis but also represents an interference in internal political affairs, if not an outright infringement of a member country's sovereign rights.

Passing judgment on an entire country based on the political convictions of Mr. Haider or his Freedom Party is not only patently wrong but also sets dangerous precedents in yet uncharted political waters.

Are future EU member candidates to be refused admission if their leaders are guilty of a communist past, politically incorrect public statements or otherwise unacceptable political convictions?

If history is anything to go by, it should be remembered that the American Civil War of Secession was not about the abolition of slavery but about state rights of Union members and that excessive interference by the EU in the national affairs of its members may very well threaten the very foundations of the Union as we know it.

JOSEPH LOUIS SPARTZ

Jakarta