Far-right party set to lose heavily in Austrian elections

VIENNA, Austria -- After months of purges and personality clashes, the anti-immigrant Freedom Party that convulsed European diplomacy stands to lose handily when Austrians vote in parliamentary elections today, but while down, the party still may not be out.

Polls predict it will win between 11 and 13 percent, a sharp drop from 1999 when it came second with 27 percent and joined a coalition with the business-friendly People's Party of Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, which had come third.

the eve of elections, this nation of eight million returns to the polls and the Freedom Party is down but not out. Schuessel's party and the opposition Social Democrats were running neck-and-neck in opinion polls Friday with around 37 percent each. That means the winner will need a coalition partner. For the Social Democrats it would likely be the environmentally driven Greens, meaning a government similar to neighboring Germany's. For Schuessel, the most likely partner would be the Freedom Party.

Weariness with the status quo pushed many voters in 1999 to embrace Haider and his establishment-bashing line that Austria's problems were caused by the corruption and favoritism of "those in power."

Now, with disillusion great about the state of Haider's party, most of those polled would prefer renewal of the socialist-conservative "Grand Coalition" that preceded the present government.

To broaden the party's appeal and ease Austria's isolation in Europe, Haider deliberately refused a Cabinet post and gave up the party leadership. But even if the Freedom Party remains in the coalition, its influence will be much diminished -- something that Haider is blamed for even by former supporters.

"We overestimated him," says Peter Sichrovsky, the party's former general secretary and its only high-profile Jew, to whom it often fell to defend his boss against accusations of anti-Semitism.

Sichrovsky broke with Haider in September after Haider's quarreling with party moderates led to their resignations from the Cabinet and elections more than a year early.

To The Associated Press, Sichrovsky now describes the rugged 52-year-old Haider as a once charismatic figure turned "tragic clown."

Voter Kurt Wendl, a self-described former Haider supporter, said Friday that he too had turned against him, citing the purges that left the party in chaos.

"They had a chance and they blew it," he said. Asked whom he would vote for, he said: "I don't know, but surely not the Freedom Party."

While Haider served as governor of Carinthia Province, the party was led by Susanne Riess-Passer, a moderate, and claimed credit for its role in increasing social benefits to families with young children, balancing the budget and trimming union powers.

However, Carinthia was too small to contain Haider's political ambitions.

His desire to regain a national role led him to come out swinging earlier this year against Riess-Passer and others whose middle-of-the-road politics made the party palatable to Haider's foes.

Picking a fight over the government's failure to cut taxes, he forced his party out of the coalition and left it again dominated by the anti-foreigner rightist faction that only true-blue Haider fans can support.