Culture Shock! Austria - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

The History of Austria 33

for his resignation, he remained president and Austria was
ostracised by the international community for the duration
of his six-year term.

The End of the Cold War

Soon after the fall of communism, Austria sought closer ties
with Western Europe. In 1989, it applied for membership to
the EU, and negotiations were completed in 1994. A national
referendum was held, and Austrians voted overwhelmingly
in favour of membership. On 1 January 1995, Austria joined
the EU.
The country maintains its permanent neutrality status. As
such, it cannot join NATO, but in February 1995, it entered
into the NATO Partnership for Peace. Militarily, this means
Austria can only take part in humanitarian and peacekeeping
missions, as it did with conflicts in the Balkans.

The Green Party

The Green Party was formed in 1986 as a left-wing pro-

environment party. The original founders included ecological

farmers, peace activists and left-wingers. Their level of support

was small, but sufficient to keep them active in the political

arena. In the 2006 elections, they came in third place for the very

first time, with 11 per cent of the vote. They ran their campaign

promoting issues such as alternative energy policies, women’s

issues, anti-xenophobia, non-violence and organic foods.

The ‘Black-Blue’ Coalition

National elections were held in October 1999. Polls indicated
that the FPÖ party, led by Jörg Haider, was gaining popularity.
This raised concerns within Austria and the international
community. Peaceful anti-Haider and anti-racism rallies were
held in the country. Foreign governments warned that an
FPÖ government would not be accepted.
The electorate ignored the international threats. The
Socialists won the elections but did not get an absolute
majority. The FPÖ did very well, winning 27 per cent of
the votes, up from 5 per cent in 1986. The ÖVP dropped