ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the developments pertaining to the controversy surrounding the coming to power of a "black/blue" coalition government in Austria in early 2000. It analyzes the antecedents to this event and places it in the context of Austria's postwar political arrangements. The chapter offers an argument as to why the author thinks the European Union's action of boycotting the Austrian government was not only morally appropriate but also immensely effective, despite virtual unanimity regarding its alleged failure. It explains some detail the structural and cultural antecedents to the current situation. The chapter analyzes the precursors in Austrian politics that led to the rise of Jorg Haider and his particular brand of politics. The ugly collaboration between Austria's social democrats and former Nazis began to be aired for the first time in 2000 in what surely would have been Austria's last trial involving the Nazi past.
