Austria the Burden of History

By Pico Iyer

In the end, the fight for the Austrian presidency came down to a contest between Austria and the world. Four months ago, Socialist Kurt Steyrer enjoyed a narrow lead over Conservative Kurt Waldheim, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. Then the World Jewish Congress revealed that Waldheim had concealed his service as a German army lieutenant in the Balkans between 1942 and 1945. Waldheim admitted that he had not left the army in 1941, as he had previously implied, but professed ignorance of any systematic extermination of Yugoslav partisans or the removal of Greek Jews to death camps. Last week, at the National Archives in Washington, an army journal was unearthed in which Waldheim had actually noted orders from the German High Command to eliminate partisans. Yet the more international outrage mounted, the more Austrians defiantly rallied behind their native son. That sent him ahead of Steyrer in the polls.

Last Sunday, when 4.8 million Austrian voters finally went to the polls, neither candidate was able to claim a majority. Waldheim won 49.6% of the votes; Steyrer had 43.7%. Two minor candidates got a total of 6.7%. In the absence of a clear-cut victor, the two front runners will now return to the campaign trail to contest a runoff election, which will be held on June 8.

In a poll taken last week, only 2% of Austrians held Waldheim responsible for war crimes, and 85% criticized the World Jewish Congress for interfering in the election campaign. Just two days before the balloting, however, Chancellor Fred Sinowatz urged voters to support Steyrer, suggesting that a Waldheim presidency would be a "risk" to the country's international reputation. Throughout the first round of campaigning, Waldheim showed himself to be an aggressive candidate. With a Madison Avenue flourish, he swept through the country accompanied by a dozen aides and five cars. At every stop, an entertainer was on hand to keep the waiting crowds amused, and young female supporters in white jumpsuits handed out stickers and autographed glossies of their man. On the hustings, the indefatigable former diplomat acted as if he were defending not just himself but an entire generation of Austrians involved in the war. Addressing a cheering crowd of thousands at his final rally, Waldheim asserted, "I have done my duty as a good soldier like all of you," and asked whether his listeners would allow the generation of their grandfathers "to be slighted by an infamous campaign of pure slander."

By comparison, Steyrer was decidedly low-key. Though he held 1,200 rallies and personally addressed half a million of his 7 million compatriots, the former Health Minister with eight years of parliamentary service was invariably eclipsed by Waldheim's high profile. And his earnest concentration on such issues as old-age pensions, health and unemployment failed to ignite any but his own Socialist supporters. In addition, the so-called Good Doctor scrupulously refrained from challenging his opponent's suspect record.

Both candidates will now be concentrating on wooing those voters who cast ballots for candidates disqualified after the first round. More than half the followers of Freda Meissner-Blau, an environmentalist and former Socialist, are expected to place their support behind Steyrer, while those in the camp of Otto Scrinzi, a former SS officer, seem more likely to vote conservative. Ultimately, however, the issue may come down to a contest between those who believe that Waldheim's secret past will be universally forgiven and those who do not.

With reporting by Gertraud Lessing/Vienna