The leaders of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) met on Thursday in Bad Kleinkirchheim. Jörg Haider, governor of the state of Carinthia, emphasised in his speech the need for social and administrative reforms already started by the government. He warned that any decline in support for the FPÖ would lead to a renewal of the coalition between the Social Democrats and the People's Party (ÖVP).
Peter Westenthaler, chairman of the FPÖ parliamentary group, presented once again his controversial plan for creating an "integration treaty" that would require every non-European Union immigrant to Austria to attend German language classes and learn about Austrian culture.
Temelín again
Demonstrations against the Czech nuclear plant of Temelín are set to continue this week in Austria. Following blockades of the Austrian-Czech border, the anti-nuclear activists will meet in Vienna on Monday for a rally in the Ballhausplatz.
Klestil in China
President Thomas Klestil was in China for an official visit this week. He travelled to Peking and Shanghai and was accompanied by a delegation of Austrian business representatives who hope to develop commercial links with China.
University elections
Students at Austrian universities held elections for student representatives this week. The voting went overwhelmingly in favour of the Social Democrats and the Greens, who are set to form a coalition at the federal level. The victory of the two parties has been interpreted by many as a sign of student discontent with the reform plans of Education Minister Elisabeth Gehrer.
A campaign for homosexual rights
A petition in favour of equal rights for homosexual partners was given on Friday to the chairman of the National Assembly, Heinz Fischer. The petition carried 2500 signatures. The Green Party has called on the government to institute legal reforms that would guarantee the rights of homosexuals in Austria.
Highways
Asfinag, the company that operates the Austrian highway network, is more than EUR six billion in debt. This week it made public its proposal to lease part of the network to American investors. Infrastructure minister Monika Forstinger has expressed her readiness to agree to the plan, which she sees as a way to maintain the quality of the roads and promote new investment in the country. The Greens, however, have voiced opposition to a project that they say will not improve the financial situation of Asfinag in the long term.
Former Austrian SS guard tried for murder
Anton Malloth, an 89-year-old Austrian-born former SS guard, is being tried in Munich for murder. Malloth, who was an SS guard in the Theresienstadt (Terezin) camp between 1940 and 1945, stands accused of having tortured and killed several Jewish inmates. The state prosecutor stated on Friday his conviction that Malloth is guilty and regretted the fact that his victims had to wait 56 years for him to be brought to trial.
A poll on anti-Semitism
ORF, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, this week quoted an alarming study released by the Sozialwissenschaftlichen Studiengesellschaft (Social Science Research Society), which showed that 24 percent of Austrians would prefer there were no Jews in their country. This percentage rises to 80 percent among FPÖ voters. Of the 1177 respondents in the survey, 25 percent think that the Jews are "not completely innocent" and that they are partly "responsible for" anti-Semitism. This figure rises to 91 percent among FPÖ voters.
Magali Perrault, 19 May 2001
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