ADL Praises Viennese Voters for Resisting Freedom Party’s Platform of Hate
New York, NY, March 26, 2001 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the
significant drop in support for Austria’s far-right Freedom Party in
municipal elections this past weekend, "sends a positive signal that the
Viennese are rejecting Joerg Haider’s message of xenophobia and
hatred."
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
We are pleased that the people of Vienna resisted the xenophobic and
extreme right wing message of the Freedom Party. The election sends a
positive signal that the Viennese are rejecting Joerg Haider’s message
of xenophobia and hatred, which had surfaced as an ugly undercurrent of
the municipal campaign.
We remain extremely concerned by the incendiary statements made by
Haider and Freedom Party candidates throughout the campaign. The Freedom
Party’s slogans breed an environment of divisiveness and hatred.
Moreover, Haider’s recent comments about the campaign and Austria’s
Jewish leadership crossed the line into anti-Semitic stereotyping. It is
extremely important that the electorate of Vienna stood up to these base
incendiary tactics. We recognize the important statements by those
Austrian leaders who spoke out against Haider’s statements, particularly
the Mayor of Vienna, Michael Häupl.
Since the inclusion of the Freedom Party into Austria’s governing coalition
in early 2000, we have urged the majority of the Austrian public that did not
vote for the party to stand strong and make it clear that they reject racism,
xenophobia and anti-Semitism. We hope that the result of the Vienna municipal
election is an indication of waning support for the Freedom Party and the
divisive and intolerant rhetoric of Joerg Haider, its most prominent member.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
