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Europe would be dangerously weakened. Hence the center-right parties
must draw a sharp line between themselves and the radical right, and
must not allow for anything that could legitimate these movements in the
European Union.
The European reaction against the coalition with Haider has to be
seen in this perspective: it is directed less against the FPO than against
the OVP and its leader, Wolfgang Schuessel. And it is intended as a
warning to all those politicians who, too, might be tempted to gain or
preserve power by a coalition with the extreme, and the anti-European
right.
There is yet another aspect. The EU is about to expand dramatically
over the next years. Negotiations are well on their way with six coun–
tries. Other candidate nations will soon begin negotiations. All of these
countries are new and untested democracies and therefore have to be
kept to clear and strict standards in order not to threaten the EU's cohe–
sion. Thus Austria is "used" to demonstrate what would happen if a
certain code of behavior were not respected.
Nonetheless, with this decision on Austria, the EU countries have
moved into uncharted and dangerous territory. There is no legal basis
for their sanctions. An article recently inserted into the treaty provides
for a proceeding that could result in freezing EU membership, but only
in case of a "persistent and serious" violation of basic EU principles.
Not even the most ardent foes of Haider believe that this article is
applicable. Until now, Austria has respected the letter and the spirit of
the EU treaty, and is expected to continue to do so.
Therefore, the EU sanctions have not been based on legal, but on
political considerations. However, this political base is shaky as well: it
is not yet solid enough to support such severe measures. For instance, in
Germany, a federated state, the PDS is much disliked because of its roots
in the Communist Party of former Eastern Germany. All leading politi–
cians on the center-left and the center-right have warned against any
coalition with this party. But that could not prevent forming open or tacit
coalitions in any of the
Lander
(states) of the German Federal Republic.
Clearly, the political base of the German Federal Republic is not suffi–
ciently strong and coherent to translate and transmit the consensus exist–
ing on the federal level into a firm political obligation on the state level.
As of now, the European Union is not yet a federation. The ties bind–
ing its members are much weaker than those that unite the various Ger–
man
Lander.
Yet, since even Germany's central government finds it
impossible to prevent a coalition with what it perceives as an extrem–
ist party with a dubious past, one should expect that a much weaker
