Source: Times (London), Independent (London)
Haider (left) and Petzner
photo: EPA via independentThe successor of the Austrian far-right leader Jörg Haider was dismissed yesterday after he revealed a "special" relationship "far beyond" friendship with his former mentor.
Stefan Petzner -- the 27-year-old who recently replaced Haider as leader of the right wing Alliance for the Future of Austria and has often appeared in tears on television since his death -- effectively outed himself as the deceased's gay lover while being interviewed on an Austrian radio breakfast show.
In emotional interviews with the national broadcaster Petzner spoke openly about his affair with Haider, who died at the age of 58 in a high-speed car crash after heavy drinking session at a gay club this month. Haider’s Alliance party captured 11 per cent of the vote in national elections last month .
"I had to go to him. I had to go to him," Petzner said as he recalled how he rushed to the hospital where the Haider's dead body was lying after his fatal crash in early October.
Petzner’s appointment as party leader was widely seen as a fulfillment of Haider’s last wish, as he had frequently said in public that he would like his young protégé to take his place one day.
"He was the man of my life. Our relationship went far beyond friendship," Petzner said after only a week in the job.
"I only had him. Now I am all alone. I would spend nights with him and his family and that was important for me because I often was afraid to be alone in the dark," he added.
Far-right Austrian leader fired after revealing long-time gay relationship with party founder [contd.]
Austrian attitudes to gays in politics contrast sharply with neighboring Germany where numerous politicians have outed themselves without anyone batting an eyelid.
Rumors that Haider was either gay or bi-sexual first surfaced in Austria nearly a decade ago, the Independent reports. However the far right leader, who fathered two children with his wife Claudia, refused to discuss them, fearing that they would alienate thousands of his ultra conservative followers.
Although his party was nicknamed the "Haider's boy party", until today conservative Austria had preferred to embrace Haider's public persona as a traditional family man. Petzner's revelations have shattered that charade.
Clearly embarrassed by the revelations, party officials at first attempted yesterday to limit the political damage and canceled forthcoming interviews with Petzner. Their attempts to prevent his radio interview being rebroadcast, however, were unsuccessful and the party felt compelled yesterday to dismiss its leader.
Saying that he felt a "magnetic attraction" for Haider, whom he met five years ago, Petzner insisted: "We had a relationship that went far beyond friendship. Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life."
Petzner dropped out of university when he met Haider at a party. At that time he was working as a journalist, writing about cosmetic treatments.
He insisted that Haider's widow, Claudia did not object to his relationship: "She loved him as a woman. He loved her as a man. I loved him in a completely different and personal way. She understood that," Petzner said. However, the young man’s sister Christiane suggested in a newspaper interview that Mrs Haider had not always been so understanding. "Sometimes Claudia was jealous because Stefan would spend more time with her husband than she did."
The revelations came after photographs in the Austrian media showing Haider in a gay bar shortly before his fatal accident. Witnesses who were present at a magazine launch party where the two men were seen together on the night of the crash were quoted today as saying that Haider had left in a hurry after an emotional argument with his deputy.
The far-right leader crashed his Volkswagen limousine while drunk and driving at more than double the speed limit, as he made his way to his mother’s birthday party in the early hours of the morning. He is reported to have told his chauffeur to go home.
More than 25,000 people flocked to his quasi state funeral in Klagenfurt, the capital of the Austrian province of Carinthia where he was governor for more than a decade.
He died just days after his party had more than doubled its share of the vote in Austria's general election and speculation swirled that he would once again figure in Austrian national politics. Nearly a decade ago, Haider had been part of the ruling coalition with his Freedom Party, triggering EU sanctions on Austria after he praised Adolf Hitler’s employment policies and described Nazi SS veterans as "decent men."
The new leader of the Alliance, Josef Buchner, 43, a hotel owner and a divorced father of two, is seen as a more conservative choice. Petzner will serve as his deputy, the Times reports.
Source: Far-right Austrian leader sacked for revealing gay affair with Jörg Haider | Times (London)
Haider's deputy reveals gay affair | Independent (London)