DURING THE last fort night, a number of European and other countries have been sharply critical of Austria. The cause of the disquiet has been Jeorg Haider's anti-immigration Freedom Party which is part of a recent coalition Government. There have been angry reactions, protests and clashes with riot police.

The cause of the trouble lies with the accusation by many people in Austria that Mr. Haider is a neo-Nazi.

The disquiet in Austria concerning German neo-Nazis is nothing new. To begin with Adolph Hitler was an Austrian.

When Kurt Waldheim was elected President in 1986, after it was disclosed that he had served with Hitler's army in World War II, the country was subject to a diplomatic boycott. He had been the secretary general of the United Nations for two terms and was barred from entering the United States in 1987. He finally resigned.

The resurgence of neo-Nazism elsewhere was nothing particularly new. Italy had a neo-fascist party in its Government in 1994.

The odd thing about this is that at the time there was little in the way of protest in Europe against it, possibly because the Europeans were never inclined to take Italians seriously. Even during the height of Nazism during World War II, England in particular, while deeply concerned about the Germans, were inclined to regard Mussolini as an over-inflated bullfrog, and the Italian army was better recognised for running away than fighting.

Sympathizers

Ever since the rise of Hitler there has been strong Nazi sympathies among Germans. Indeed, even with the defeat of Germany, there was a feeling among the vast majority of Germans that Hitler's only sin was to have been defeated.

While in recent times the Germans have sought to make it clear that they have finished with their Nazi past, there still exists in Germany small pockets of Nazi sympathizers.

In Austria, pro-Nazi sentiments are still strongly in evidence. If I may be permitted a personal view, one cannot entirely avoid the suspicion that German jack-boots have still not been entirely discarded.

We must not forget that Hitler's rise to power, which began as a very small movement in Austria, gained enormous momentum in a remarkably short time.

The Austrians in particular, and the Germans in general, have many great virtues, but the vast majority of "good" Germans would be well-advised to observe the small rebirth of Nazism with great care.

I think this is why world opinion in Austria against politicians like Mr. Haider is much stronger than in other countries such as Italy. Many feel that it would not take much to set neo-fascism alight once again.

The irritation against Mr. Haider has been made worse by his accusations that Belgium is corrupt, and the French President incompetent. There is probably truth in both accusations, but it would be difficult to deny that Mr. Haider is a racist, a xenophobe, and a Nazi sympathizer.

On hanging

Two men recently condemned to be hanged for murder in Jamaica were reported to have pumped 20 bullets into the bodies of their victims.

The particular violence of these two men leads me to wonder whether our Government will at last gather up sufficient resolution to have them hanged.

It has been a number of years since our assorted wimps have backed away from carrying out a sentence of death.

A large majority of Jamaicans support the death penalty. What is nonsensical is that the Government, not wishing to face the unpopularity of a repeal, nonetheless continues to pass sentences of death, while indulging in the evasive tactic of contriving that legal sentences are never carried out.

It is time that this kind of dishonesty is stopped. At least Trinidad and some of the smaller islands know better.

Apart from anything else, the careful preservation of a large number of murderers on death-row is simply asking for trouble in our prisons.

End Piece

Herb Caen is quoted by my old friend Lyle Stuart, the publisher, as saying: "The trouble with born-again Christians is that they are an even bigger pain the second time around."