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12. 10. 09. - 16:00

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12. 10. 09. - 16:00

Dörfler praises Haider at commemoration ceremony

By William Green

Carinthian Governor Gerhard Dörfler praised the late right-wing icon Jörg Haider as a "great politician and generous person" as more than one thousand people turned up at a ceremony yesterday (Sun) to mark the first anniversary of the death of the former Carinthian Governor.

Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) Governor Dörfler, who succeeded Haider, and his BZÖ deputy Uwe Scheuch presided at the ceremony in memory of Haider at the site of the car crash in Lambichl in which he was killed on 11 October last year.

As a roadside cross was unveiled the governor praised Haider as a man who had accomplished a lot for the province and its people, adding that he had always considered "the little guy" as important as a big businessman.

"We celebrate together, but we also mourn together. There is no death cult," Dörfler said.

The media said attendees had discussed a number of conspiracy theories about the real cause of Haider’s death, but the governor said during his speech that the cause had been a car crash.

One man with a tattoo of Haider’s face on his upper arm said "it certainly was not an accident" but declined to be more specific on the grounds it would be "too dangerous."

Scheuch accused the media of having spread "half-truths and lies" about Haider during his lifetime.

He added that Haider would always live in the hearts of Carinthians.

The Carinthian hymn was sung as the ceremony was brought to a close.

There was also a Requiem Mass at Klagenfurt Cathedral in the morning, a requiem at a church in Ossiach in the afternoon and a concert for invited guests at the town’s music academy in the evening.

People also made visits to Haider’s grave, many with candles or flowers, in Feistritz im Rosental municipality in Carinthia’s Bären Valley.

Haider died early in the morning of 11 October 2008 at the wheel of his car on his way back home from Klagenfurt when he lost control of it after reportedly passing another car at high speed. An autopsy found he had a high blood-alcohol level.

Many BZÖ supporters and Haider fans remain convinced that he was murdered.

The controversial right-wing politician became leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) in 1986 and led it to a second-place finish in the 1999 general election with almost 27 per cent of the vote as a protest party fighting the dominance of the two big parties, the People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democrats (SPÖ).

The FPÖ was junior partner to the ÖVP in two coalition governments beginning in 2000.  But Haider quit the party to found the BZÖ in 2005.

Haider sparked controversy during his political career with public statements praising Hitler’s SS forces and elements of the Nazi regime.

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