ABSTRACT
Mindful of Austria's collaboration with Nazi Germany during the Third Reich and disturbed by some of the Freedom Party's right-wing proposals, Austrians and foreigners alike feared that the new government represented the emergence of a neo-fascist, extreme right political movement in Austria. Austria's fourteen fellow European Union member states immediately imposed diplomatic sanctions on Austria to protest the Austrian Freedom Party inclusion in the government. The political leaders of the European Union, however, accepted the outcome of the Italian elections and many of them promptly congratulated the center-right coalition on its victory. Libertarian movements also contradict extreme right-wing party ideals in their enthusiasm for capitalism and the free market. During their campaigns, political parties may have a great impact on national politics. The former Freedom Party leader's apparently National Socialist comments prompted many of Haider's political opponents to adopt a policy to "Stop Haider". The Freedom Party also influenced the ruling government's policies regarding financial assistance to immigrants.
