MINORITY RIGHTS AND DIVISIVE POLITICS IN CARINTHIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 002841

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS (HIRONIMUS)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2017
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL PHUM SMIG AU
SUBJECT: MINORITY RIGHTS AND DIVISIVE POLITICS IN CARINTHIA

Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor J. Dean Yap for reasons 1.4
(d)


1. (C) EconPolOff met November 17 with Dr. Marjam Sturm, head
of the "Central Association for Slovenes", in Klagenfurt to
discuss the situation of the Slovene minority in Carinthia
province. Sturm averred that Slovenes are reasonably content
in Carinthia, except for the rhetoric of certain local
politicians. He stated bluntly that Carinthia's major
problem is its governor, Joerg Haider, who uses "divisive
politics" to maintain political power in the region.


2. (C) First, he said, Haider alienated minority groups by
railing against a law requiring the province to post certain
street signs in Slovenian. And now, he added, the governor
is advocating a ban on the building of mosques in Carinthia.
This provocative rhetoric creates a climate of distrust and
fear between ethnic Austrians and minority groups.


3. (C) Haider's days are numbered, predicts Sturm, as the
economic and political situation changes in Carinthia.
Haider is suffering from the bleak economic situation in the
province and his failed economic policies. Haider's messages
of fear and division are increasingly falling on deaf ears.
In fact, Sturm predicts that Haider will be gone in the next
five years and says people in the province are already
beginning to turn on the governor.


4. (U) While Haider attempts to use divisive politics for
political gain, Sturm is attempting to facilitate cooperation
and unity among the ethnic groups in the province. For
instance, Sturm has recently initiated a dialog with his
one-time rival, Josef Feldner, leader of the conservative
veterans' group, "Kaerntner Heimatdienst". Through this
working relationship, Sturm and Feldner are providing
leadership for their respective ethnic groups by encouraging
cooperation between the ethnic Slovene minority and the
Austrian majority in tackling the economic and social
problems of Carinthia. They jointly published a book on this
issue that, at the very least, has symbolic value.


5. (C) Comment: Post believes that Haider's prospects are
greater than Sturm suggests. Nonetheless, Sturm's lack of
great concern, his outreach to conservative ethnic Austrians,
and his view of the situation of Slovenes in Carinthia
suggest that the Slovenes do indeed enjoy a good measure of
political comfort and security. End Comment
McCaw