ABSTRACT
Tony Judt comments on the Austrian elections and on the rather strong showing of Jorg Haider, a Populist, right-wing politician. Judt’s main conclusion is certainly to the point. The election results should not be taken lightly: Haider articulates fears, spite, and resentments that undermine not only the hold of traditional parties but the political system as such. The forces unleashed are likely to lead politics in a dangerous direction. These forces spell trouble not only for Austria, since Haider has his counterparts in other European nations. Professor Judt uses various arguments to substantiate his conclusions, and 95 percent of them are factually correct. Judt is also quite dogmatic in his judgments on the era between 1938 and 1945 when Austria was part of Hitler’s Germany and on Austria’s reckoning with this past. Professor Judt claims that “Austrian de-Nazification was even milder than the one undertaken by Germany.”
