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HAIDER'S SLEIGHT OF HAND

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Joerg Haider can resign, but he can't hide. On Monday, Haider stepped down as leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party, claiming that he doesn't want "to stand in the way" of Austria's newly formed coalition government.

His altruism, however, is suspect. There is no reason to believe that Haider will actually move out of the political game.

Haider -- who earned worldwide criticism for his praise of former Waffen SS members and Hitler's "orderly employment" policies -- will remain governor of an Austrian province and will, in all likelihood, remain a force in his party.

Which brings up a more important issue: The fact that this highly controversial individual has removed himself from the public spotlight does not mean that the ideas represented by the Freedom Party are any less troubling or any less pervasive.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, whose country is the current leader of the European Union, summed up the situation perfectly: "The key question is not the personality of Haider. It is the nature of his party."

The Freedom Party gained popularity in Austria with its anti-immigration rhetoric -- so much so that in the country's recent national election, the Freedom Party won 27 percent of the vote.

After the elections, members of the EU, Israel and the United States limited their interactions with Austria.

But Haider's resignation hasn't improved diplomatic relations. Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy said that the resignation "does not change anything for us."

Only time will tell if Haider's resignation is anything more than a symbolic gesture meant to alleviate the pressure that his party has received.

-- canthappen (n@ysayer.com), March 01, 2000