It is a tribute to Jorg Haider's talent for making the political weather that his abrupt resignation as leader of the Freedom Party has been interpreted not as a capitulation to international pressure but as a cunning ploy to advance his ambition to become chancellor.

The Chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel, insisted yesterday the far-right leader's decision should be taken at face value as an attempt to ease the pressure from abroad on Austria's controversial new government.

But Haider's refusal to rule out a future bid to become chancellor and his personal dominance of his party have convinced most Austrian observers that his retreat to Carinthia, where he is provincial governor, is little more than a tactical manoeuvre.

Austria's EU partners responded sceptically to the resignation, which came late on Monday, and signalled that their diplomatic sanctions against Vienna would remain in place.

After all, they pointed out, the problem with the new government is its inclusion of members of the Freedom Party, and Haider was never a member of the cabinet.

Yet most of the odium attracted by the Freedom Party has focused on Haider, particularly on his notorious outbursts in praise of Hitler's employment policies and the war record of the Waffen SS.

Some EU member-states which were already unenthusiastic about the measures taken against Austria may be tempted to seize the opportunity presented by Haider's retreat to start putting relations with Vienna back on a normal footing.

Schussel's strategy for ending the diplomatic freeze is to persuade some of these lukewarm states - particularly smaller countries such as Ireland and Denmark - to move together in lifting the sanctions.

Once a group of four or five states has normalised relations, the Chancellor would start to work on the more committed advocates of sanctions, such as France, Belgium and Germany.

Schussel has made no secret of his ambition to tame the Freedom Party so the far-right group will be accepted as a respectable coalition partner for his party in the future. He is hoping that, once they find their feet in government, Freedom Party ministers will identify more closely with their official responsibilities than with Haider's populism.

The far-right ministers staged a small revolt against Haider this week when they decided to ignore Freedom Party rules that set a ceiling on politicians' earnings. The 31-year-old Finance Minister, KarlHeinz Grasser, went a step further, declaring he wanted to exchange his official BMW for a Jaguar.

Human vanity should never be underestimated, especially among politicians, and, as undistinguished provincial figures, Austria's Freedom Party ministers may be especially vulnerable to the attractions of high office. But they are also conscious that they owe their new-found glory to the remarkable success of their party since Haider became leader in 1986.

For all his international notoriety, Haider is a remarkably attractive politician for many Austrians; unburdened by any coherent ideology, he has an uncanny gift for identifying voters' political erogenous zones.

The freedom of opposition suits Haider's temperament better than the respectable confines of coalition government and he is likely to use his position in Carinthia, where he is immensely popular, to enhance his stature throughout Austria. If the right-wing coalition performs well, Haider will soak up as much credit as he can, but if the new government proves disappointing, he can deny all responsibility.

After just three weeks in office, there are already signs that the government is beset by divisions over everything from tax reform to law and order. Haider's resignation was followed yesterday by that of Michael Kruger, the Freedom Party Justice Minister.

Kruger claimed he was stepping down for health reasons, but his health deteriorated abruptly follow ing an extraordinary interview last week detailing bizarre sexual goings on with a former Miss Vienna.

Kruger leaves a cabinet distinguished by its remarkable dearth of talent, and the government faces turbulent times as it attempts to break the power of the trade unions, increase spending taxes and raise the retirement age.

But Haider may find it more difficult to capitalise on the government's woes than he hopes because, by achieving his ambition of breaking the stranglehold on power of Austria's two big parties, he has made himself obsolete as a focus of protest.

The entry of the Freedom Party into government has effected a realignment within Austrian politics, with the Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals forming a formidable opposition to the right-wing government.

If the Social Democrats can grasp the opportunity for reinvigoration offered by a spell in opposition and the Greens maintain their present strength, Haider's sojourn by the lakes of Carinthia may prove more permanent than he might wish.