Freedom Party makes comeback

Berlin - The Austrian far-right leader, Mr Jorg Haider, made a dramatic comeback last night when his Freedom Party emerged as…

Berlin - The Austrian far-right leader, Mr Jorg Haider, made a dramatic comeback last night when his Freedom Party emerged as the largest party in a state election in Carinthia, reports Denis Staunton.

A campaign focusing on the danger posed to farmers by EU agriculture reforms enabled the Freedom Party to surge ahead of the Social Democrats and the conservative People's Party and take 42 per cent of the vote.

Mr Haider was prime minister of Carinthia from 1989 until 1991, but was forced to resign after he praised Hitler's employment policies.