Word: waldheim
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...fight for the Austrian presidency came down to a contest between Austria and the world. Four months ago, Socialist Kurt Steyrer enjoyed a narrow lead over Conservative Kurt Waldheim, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. Then the World Jewish Congress revealed that Waldheim had concealed his service as a German army lieutenant in the Balkans between 1942 and 1945. Waldheim admitted that he had not left the army in 1941, as he had previously implied, but professed ignorance of any systematic extermination of Yugoslav partisans or the removal of Greek Jews to death camps. Last week...
Last Sunday, when 4.8 million Austrian voters finally went to the polls, neither candidate was able to claim a majority. Waldheim won 49.6% of the votes; Steyrer had 43.7%. Two minor candidates got a total of 6.7%. In the absence of a clear-cut victor, the two front runners will now return to the campaign trail to contest a runoff election, which will be held on June...
...poll taken last week, only 2% of Austrians held Waldheim responsible for war crimes, and 85% criticized the World Jewish Congress for interfering in the election campaign. Just two days before the balloting, however, Chancellor Fred Sinowatz urged voters to support Steyrer, suggesting that a Waldheim presidency would be a "risk" to the country's international reputation. Throughout the first round of campaigning, Waldheim showed himself to be an aggressive candidate. With a Madison Avenue flourish, he swept through the country accompanied by a dozen aides and five cars. At every stop, an entertainer was on hand to keep...
...comparison, Steyrer was decidedly low-key. Though he held 1,200 rallies and personally addressed half a million of his 7 million compatriots, the former Health Minister with eight years of parliamentary service was invariably eclipsed by Waldheim's high profile. And his earnest concentration on such issues as old-age pensions, health and unemployment failed to ignite any but his own Socialist supporters. In addition, the so-called Good Doctor scrupulously refrained from challenging his opponent's suspect record...
...Freda Meissner-Blau, an environmentalist and former Socialist, are expected to place their support behind Steyrer, while those in the camp of Otto Scrinzi, a former SS officer, seem more likely to vote conservative. Ultimately, however, the issue may come down to a contest between those who believe that Waldheim's secret past will be universally forgiven and those...