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17. 08. 09. - 14:00

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17. 08. 09. - 14:00

Haider widow will not run for president

By Thomas Hochwarter

The widow of late Carinthian Governor Jörg Haider has dismissed rumours she is considering running for president next year.

"A candidacy is out of the question for me", the newspaper Kronen Zeitung quotes Claudia Haider today (Mon).

Speculation increased after Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) boss Josef Bucher suggested Haider could run as an independent candidate.

But Haider announced politics meant nothing to her, adding she would focus on her charity work. "I have enough self-knowledge to know what I am good at," she said, adding she saw her future in Carinthia where the family owns a huge forest estate.

Haider was given little chance by pollsters in a possible campaign against current President Heinz Fischer, who has yet to announce whether he will run for a second term in office. Reports have it Lower Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Governor Erwin Pröll is considering running against Fischer, who was nominated by the Social Democrats (SPÖ) in 2004.

Former President of Parliament Fischer beat ÖVP candidate and former Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner in the 2004 election and has so far refused to reveal whether he will run again. The election will take place next year, and, by Austrian law, a president can be in office for only two terms. Fischer has argued it is too early to make an announcement but has stressed he is enjoying his job.

Surveys claim Pröll, the uncle of ÖVP Vice Chancellor Josef Pröll, would be the only possible candidate who could challenge Fischer for the post. Pröll has hinted several times he can imagine running but has not yet publicly declared his candidacy.

Austrian Times

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