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Has anyone posted a followup on the Austrain elections?

With the postal ballots counted, Greens did overtook Haider's former party, FPÖ -- by 632 votes... percents/mandates:

  1. SPÖ (SocDem) 35.3%, 68 seats
  2. ÖVP (con) 34.3%, 66 seats
  3. Greens 11.0%, 21 seats
  4. FPÖ (far-right) 11.0%, 21 seats
  5. BZÖ (far-right, current Haider party) 4.1%, 7 seats

Currently, the two bigs hold talks for a grand coalition, with SPÖ's glassed-bald boss Gusenbauer as chancellor-to-be. There was movement over one issue that was part of the campaign: the SPÖ demanded an exit from the deal to get Eurofighter jets for Austria, attacking the government for holding the deal (which included return investments) confidential. Now outgoing chancellor Schüssel handed over the documents for Gusenbauer to read. Now the Greens demand that Gusenbauer shall make the deal public.

Also, there is a scandal in the BZÖ.

This party was born when Haider saw FPÖ in crisis, and its hardcore Vienna boss with too much ambition -- so e left, along with FPÖ's ministers and some MPs on the top and much of the Carynthia branch of FPÖ on the bottom. And tricky Schüssel continued his coalition with this new formation... Haider wanted to pretend that BZÖ is a cut with the hardcore far-right, and pulled himself in the background for once popular former finance minister Peter Westentaler (a pragmatist), but soon some BZÖ members gave Nazi-apologist speeches...

The scandal concerns Westentaler. The press secretary of the justice minister claims that he was beaten up on election night by Westentaler's bodyguard, at his order. The case is going to courts, Westentaler could even get six months. He and the bodyguard deny everything.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Oct 13th, 2006 at 03:50:26 PM EST

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