Europe's right distanced itself from Jörg Haider

On the death of Jörg Haider the Belgian daily De Standaard writes: "It is to Jörg Haider's credit that he broke up a rigid political system in Austria. He leaves behind a nation with a weakness for populism, xenophobia, old Nazi sentiment and isolationist policies. ... But for Europe's extreme right, too, in the end Haider's success was a mixed blessing. More than Le Pen in France or Filip Dewinter in Flanders, Haider became the figurehead of the old ultra-right movement in Europe. But his short-sighted dream of a joint European ultra right-wing list soon shattered against the controversies and the fact that Haider attached more importance to his ego than political projects. The [ultra right Flemish] party Vlaams Belang, which on Saturday sent sympathy telegrams to Austria, broke its ties with Haider in 2005. All of a sudden the Vlaams Belang magazine started describing the man who it had hailed as a hero for years as someone who changed his views as often as he changed his shirt."

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