Conspiracy theories surround death of Austria’s gay fascist leader
The widow of Joerg Haider wants another autopsy to be carried out amid suggestions that his death was not an accident.
The Austrian newspaper Heute has reported that Claudia Haider wans the new autopsy to be performed outside Austria.
Plans to cremate the political leader last weekend were blocked by Mrs Haider.
There have been persistent questions about the manner in which the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZO) party died.
Senior members of the party claim Mr Haider was drugged and unconscious when his car careered off the road at twice the speed limit earlier this month.
Prosecutors have confirmed there was four times the legal limit for alcohol in his blood.
Others have cried foul over the way in which his VW Phaeton did not leave any skid marks.
Mr Haider crashed near Klagenfurt, less than 30 minutes after leaving the Stadtkraemer, a well-known gay hangout.
The man who had taken over the leadership of BZO after the death of Mr Haider revealed that they were lovers earlier this week, causing more embarassment to the party.
Stefan Petzner, 27, said in a radio interview:
“We had a relationship that went far beyond friendship.
“Joerg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life.”
He also claimed that Haider’s widow, Claudia “loved him as a woman. He loved her as a man. I loved him in a completely different and personal way. She understood that.”
Mr Petzner has been forced to stand down from the leadership and will serve as deputy leader.
Last month BZO won 11% of the national vote in a parliamentary election.
The revelation that Mr Haider, 58, was having sex with his young protege has shocked Austria’s fascists.
Joerg Haider had never been open about his homosexuality.
The German and Austrian press outed the married father of two daughters in 2006.
His fascist political views led him to high office in Austria, despite his open praise for Nazi policies.
It is reported that Mr Haider, the Governor of the state of Carinthia, had an argument with Mr Petzner at an event on the evening of the crash and went to a gay bar, where he drank vodka with a group of escorts.
The revelations that Austria’s most popular fascist leader was gay has taken the sheen off attempts to present him as the country’s version of Diana, Princess of Wales.
