ABSTRACT
Austria's political isolation at the hands of the rest of the European Union (EU) partners has two causes: the participation of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) in the government, and the inadequate review and reappraisal of National Socialism in Austria. When President Klestil swore in the new Austrian government of Austrian People’s Party (OVP) and FPO at the beginning of February 2000, the postwar-era in Austria came to an end. Besides the concern that a similar political situation could arise in another EU country, the Austrian way of dealing with its own Nazi past is an intrinsic component of the EU isolation policy towards Austria. After the Waldheim Affair the present isolation of the Austrian government is the second case within the last fifteen years where a country, because of its attitude to the Nazi past, has been ostracized by the international community. This has led to a kind of non-voluntary re-education, learning one's lesson the hard way.
