Haider 'was the man of my life'

[MarkG]

Haider 'was the man of my life'

The new leader of the party previously headed by Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider has admitted the two men had a "special relationship".

Stefan Petzner told Austrian radio that Mr Haider, whom he met five years ago, was his "life partner".

Mr Haider, 58, died in a high-speed car crash earlier this month. He had a high blood alcohol level.

He had led the Alliance for Austria's Future, a party best known for its anti-immigration and anti-EU policies.

We had a special relationship
Stefan Petzner

Mr Petzner took over as head of the party following his leader's sudden death.

Mr Haider had said frequently that he would like his 27-year-old protege, and party deputy to take his place one day.

It has been widely reported in Austria that on the night of his death, Mr Haider left a bar where he had been drinking with Mr Petzner after they had argued.

' I loved him'

Mr Petzner has described feeling a magnetic attraction to Mr Haider.

"We had a special relationship that went far beyond friendship," Mr Petzner said in an emotional interview.

"Joerg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life," he added.

There has been no comment from the Haider family. He was married with two children.

Joerg Haider became a potent force in Austria in the 1980s and 90s, championing what he called traditional family values and an end to immigration.

More recently his Alliance for Austria's Future enjoyed success at the polls, gaining more than 10% of the votes in September's general election.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7685905.stm

who would have thought?

[Barnabas]

Not surprinsing

[Dinner]

Wow, another angry closet case.

[Agathon]

Ben Kenobi to come out of the closet in 3.... 2.... 1...

[MarkG]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4996937.ece

Far-right Austrian leader sacked for revealing gay affair with Jörg Haider

The 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.

In emotional interviews with the national broadcaster and a tabloid newspaper Stefan 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 party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria, captured 11 per cent of the vote in national elections last month .

“He was the man of my life. Our relationship went far beyond friendship,” Mr Petzner, 27, said after only a week in the job, adding that Haider’s wife, Claudia, 52, “did not object” to their relationship.

“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.

Mr Petzner’s appointment as party leader was widely seen as a fulfilment 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. Mr 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.

Outraged by the interviews, the party felt compelled yesterday to dismiss its leader amid reports of his alleged role in Haider’s tragic death. Local papers said that, on the night of his accident, Haider and Mr Petzner had a row at a magazine launch party. Haider left in a hurry and drove to a gay club in Klagenfurt, his home town, where he drank vodka with male escorts. The reports said that he was hardly able to walk to his car.

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. Mr Petzner will serve as his deputy.

[MarkG]

btw, i like how they can change party leaders so fast in austria

[Wernazuma III]

Hm, part of the news is incorrect. Petzner was not sacked as the party's head. But he was not assigned "Klubobmann", i.e., head of the parliamentary fraction, two positions that often go together and which he was presumed to get.
Also, officially, there is no dispute within the party ( ), and Austrian media don't openly talk about the obvious homosexual relationship. They speak cryptically, I guess to avoid legal conflict, since no person involved openly said that there was.
Yet you have to be deaf, blind and otherwise impaired if you didn't notice by the reactions and interviews of Petzner in how far their relationship was "special". And to me, Haider's homosexuality was obvious for several years now... I think it's a shame that this is not openly stated in media coverage, not even adding that "there are rumors that...". The best we get is "it is said that there are internal disputes due to the emotional reaction of Petzner and his connection to Haider that is said to have upset Haider's wife...".
It is mentioned occasionally that Haider spent his last hours after a quarrel with Petzner drinking in a known gay bar in Carinthia (where he fueled up, then overtaking a car with 1.8 o/oo at 160km/h in a 70km/h speed limit, crashing, luckily not killing bystanders).

I really don't care about Haider's private life. I just hate that bigotry of how such "taboo"-topics are being treated in the 21st century.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben Kenobi to come out of the closet in 3.... 2.... 1...

What, and give up on Mariah? Never.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi


What, and give up on Mariah? Never.

Claiming to fantasize about an unattainable celebrity is one of the top signs of a total closet case. See: Rosie O'Donnell "lusting" for Tom Cruise.

[Heresson]

Haider was much more handsome than this Petzner

[Ben Kenobi]

Claiming to fantasize about an unattainable celebrity is one of the top signs of a total closet case. See: Rosie O'Donnell "lusting" for Tom Cruise.

What is this "claim" you speak of?