http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=9b47310e-0abe-421a-00b5-effc8886d5f1&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bfPolitician launches bid to terminate Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship posted by: Dan Werner (Web producer)
Created: 1/22/2005 9:35 AM MST - Updated: 1/22/2005 9:35 AM MST
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should be stripped of citizenship in his native Austria for approving the execution of a convicted killer, a leading Austrian politician said Saturday.
The demand, by a top official from the environmentalist Green Party, had little chance for success, but it underscores how Schwarzenegger has lost popularity in his homeland over his support for the death penalty. Most Austrians -- and many other Europeans -- abhor capital punishment as cruel and inhumane.
Peter Pilz said Schwarzenegger broke the law in Austria -- where capital punishment is illegal -- and is no longer worthy of citizenship because he allowed the execution of Donald Beardslee's execution to go ahead last week.
"Schwarzenegger is possibly the most prominent Austrian abroad, and he shapes the picture of Austria," Pilz said. "I don't want that picture shaped by someone who commits state murder. That does not correspond to the political culture of this country."
complete story:
http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=9b47310e-0abe-421a-00b5-effc8886d5f1&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf