Joerg Haider, a far-right politician in Austria who had praised Nazi employment policies, died in a road accident.
Haider, the governor of the province of Carinthia, was killed early Saturday when his car ran off the road as he was driving to a family gathering. He was 58.
Known for his anti-immigrant and anti-European Union policies, Haider led the right-wing Freedom Party from 1986 to 2005. He made headlines with remarks that appeared to praise Hitler; his parents were members of the Nazi Party.
The Freedom Party won 27 percent of the vote in 1999. That year, Haider described Nazi SS veterans as “men of honor.”
In 2000, the party’s entry into the Austrian government sparked international sanctions, demonstrations and street riots, and prompted calls by Israel and Jewish groups to isolate the country.
Haider left the Freedom Party in 2005 to found a separate far-right party, Alliance for Austria’s Future. In Austrian general elections last month, the Alliance for Austria’s Future and the Freedom Party created a far-right faction that together captured about 29 percent of the vote.
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