Strategische Ambivalenz. Der Umgang Jörg Haiders mit dem NS-Thema. Strategic ambivalence. Dealing with Jorg Haider's Nazi theme. IHS Political Science Series 49, November 1997

Zuser, Peter (1997) Strategische Ambivalenz. Der Umgang Jörg Haiders mit dem NS-Thema. Strategic ambivalence. Dealing with Jorg Haider's Nazi theme. IHS Political Science Series 49, November 1997. [Working Paper]

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Abstract

Is Jörg Haider a »Nazi« as his praise for employment policies in the Third Reich as well as for the Waffen-SS suggests? Do such statements come out of his socialization in a political subculture which has close affinities to the NSDAP? The present papers does not pretend to answer these questions. It analyzes Jörg Haider’s public disourse on the Nazi regime and Austria’s Nazi past in terms of strategic choice. The conclusions it reaches are threefold. First, Jörg Haiders usual handling of this sensitive theme appears as perfectly rational and strategic. Second, Haider’s strategy focuses primarily on the group of potential voters, while at the same time it neglects the hard-core German-national camp. Third, Haider’s statements are in harmony with much of the general population’s attitude towards National Socialism: They are unclear, unsensitive, euphemistic, and ambivalent.

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