Fear of change drives Austrian voters back into cocoon

ADRIAN BRIDGE

Vienna

Last week Austrian shops were, for the first time ever, allowed to open on the Catholic Maria Empfangnis (Immaculate Conception) holiday. Naturally such a bold step had not been taken without careful thought. For weeks prior to the holiday the media had been full of animated debate.

The powerful Church and trade unions remained steadfastly opposed to the shops opening. Business leaders were staunchly for - pointing out that, as Austria was now part of the European Union, any Austrians wanting to go shopping on the day in question would simply flood across the borders to neighbouring Italy and Germany to do so.

In the end, in the classic Austrian manner, a compromise was reached: shops were not obliged to open, but could if they wanted. Many did, subsequently reporting their best takings of the year.

The row over the holiday highlighted the conflicting attitudes to change in Austria as it slowly pulls itself out of the post-war cocoon within which it was confined for 40 years, and tries to re-connect with all the countries that surround it. It also showed that, while resistance to (and fear of) change is strong, there is a realisation that, in many cases, it is inevitable.

Austria's entry to the EU at the beginning of this year resulted in the lifting of trade barriers with its partners to the west, and marked the beginning of serious debate about whether to drop the long-standing neutrality enforced on the country as the price for the departure of occupying Russian troops in 1955.

But the real catalyst for change was the collapse of the Iron Curtain six years ago and the sudden reopening of the borders with the countries to the east, which were formerly part of the old Habsburg empire. A look through a Viennese phone book, with its thousands of names such as Bradilovic and Simjanowski, underlines the strength of that legacy. But while the Austrian capital has long been ethnically mixed, the dramatic increase since 1989 of would-be immigrants from the east has further fanned the flames of anxiety.

As Ernst Neubau, a pensioner in the working-class district of Favoriten, put it: "There are some parts of Vienna now where all you hear are foreign languages. Instead of allowing them in we should look after ourselves first."

Mr Neubau was one of hundreds cheering Jorg Haider, the populist leader of the far right Freedom Party (FPO), at a rally in the final countdown to tomorrow's general election. And he liked what he heard. "Since the Iron Curtain came down, Austria has become a centre for international crime: drug- dealers, car thieves, pimps and bandits," stormed Mr Haider, a man who once praised Hitler's "orderly" employment policies. "We demand an absolute, complete stop to immigration."

In addition to foreigners, Mr Haider's other main targets are the Social Democrats (SPO) and the People's Party (OVP), which, together or alone, have been governing Austria since the end of the war, and which have built up an extraordinary system of patronage and privilege whereby the control of banks, state industries and even schools and post offices are all determined along party lines.

Mr Haider claims to represent the "little man", the losers from change, modernisation and competition from cheaper East European workers and the EU, and promises that, if he came to power, he would not betray their interests. Rather than less change, however, Mr Haider stands for more: a complete break-up of the duopoly on power and the rewriting of the constitution to allow for the merging of the posts of chancellor and president.

That is probably more change than most Austrians like to contemplate and for those seeking a less radical departure, the OVP is promising comprehensive structural reform, particularly of the country's bloated budget, while retaining the best features of the old system. And for those not wanting any change at all, Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, now into his 10th year of power and clearly looking past his prime, is running on a ticket of "no experiments".

Tomorrow's poll, which comes just 14 months after the country's last general election, was brought about after the SPO and OVP fell out over how to reduce Austria's spiralling budget deficit. In many ways it represents a watershed: a clear signal that the old system of consensus has broken down, and that the old two-party system is on its last legs. It may even lead to a radical re-alignment, with the OVP switching coalition partners and inviting Mr Haider to join them in government. On the other hand, it may lead to the SPO and OVP once again reconciling their differences and carrying on in the same old tired but tried and tested ways.

As Robert Wiesner, a television journalist put it: "There is certainly a mood for change: but change with stability." Nothing could be more Austrian.