Austrians Cheer Native Son Schwarzenegger

[emad]

THAL, Austria (Reuters) - Austrians on Wednesday cheered native son Arnold Schwarzenegger who left as a young bodybuilder in 1968 and won the governor's office in his new home California."I was moved to tears," said Elfi Kling, who runs a restaurant in Schwarzenegger's hometown of Thal.Josef Heinzl, a school friend of Schwarzenegger's, brushed off allegations the actor had groped women on film sets.
"I have no doubt that he'll be one of the best governors California has ever had. He's a good man, a family man, and he stands for the people, not just for business alone," Heinzl told Reuters.

Even Joerg Haider, the anti-immigration populist who sparked international protests by praising Nazi policies, had kind words for the Austrian-U.S. citizen who criticized Haider's politics."This is not just a great personal honor for Schwarzenegger but also an honor and a boost for Austria in America," Haider said in a statement.
Austrian business also welcomed Schwarzenegger's victory as a boost to Austria's image in the world and Austrian business in a state representing the world's eight-largest economy."This is priceless advertising for us," said Christa Lausenhammer, spokeswoman for Austria Tourism.

Politicians from opposing conservative and Social Democratic camps heaped praise on Schwarzenegger. "His success -- first in sports, then professionally and now in politics -- demonstrates to America and the world how good Austrians are," said Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, a conservative People's Party. In Thal, Social Democratic Mayor Peter Urdl raised a glass of champagne with friends around the television as the California results started coming in early in the morning. "I can barely find the words. It is really super," Urdl told Reuters.

People on the street said Schwarzenegger's victory would shine a positive light on Austria, whose image has been marred by two rounds of international protests in the past 20 years linked to the country's Nazi past "If he continues to make clear his origins and reminds people that he is Austrian, it will certainly improve our image, at least in America," said Arno Castellani, a teacher. Austria was slapped with brief diplomatic sanctions in 2000 after Haider's far-right party entered government. He later retracted his comments supporting Nazi policies.

<snip>

more: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=BPUNE34JBQ4WWCRBAELCFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=3576999


So there you have it folks: priceless free advertising for Austrian tourism.

Anyone like skiing in those Austrian alps? Or the Passion Play at Oberammagau, perhaps?

Do you like it any better now that Arnie is going to be running CA????

[Jonte_1979]

1. Surprise, surprise - Haider likes Arnie!

Who woulda thunk it?:eyes:

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. How Nice! NOT!!!!

Eight Million nazis Cheering on a Hitler Worshiper! What a sad little shit hole of a country.


:eyes:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. Wow! You sure you picked the right screen name?

Austria is almost entirely Catholic and "Hitler worship" is hardly the norm. It's a beautiful country and its people welcome visitors.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

4. Arnie "admired" Hitler's "Political Skills" and...

WHAT HE DID WITH THEM!!!!

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you know what he did with them????

[Orrin_73]

7. I beg to differ

austria has changed a lot, extreme rightwing has a considerable following.

[JoeMemphis]

8. Austria is a nice country

I agree. Austria is a beautiful country and its people are among the friendliest I've visited with in Europe.

[Blitz]

10. Wow, mighty "progressive" of you

I guess xenophobic bigotry is OK with you. "Eight million nazis." That's quite the slur, even by DU standards. I mean, a whole country. Congrats on that.

And the Hitler slur has been debunked over and over and over again. Every reputable paper that was stupid enough to publish it has issued a retraction. Only demogogues and the frighteningly dense continue to repeat it.

[Ripley]

13. My spouse's family is from Austria and you are a BIGOT.

The entire population of that country is no more Nazi than Indiana is. The country is not a "sad little shit hole" but very beautiful and has more culture in Graz than the entire U.S.

[Undemcided]

17. Uncalled for remark.

What a sad little shit hole of a country.

Your mask is slipping ..... so what do you think of Mexico?

[JohnKleeb]

24. Why to insult the Austrian people progressive

:eyes: You think just because I got German blood, I am gonna say sieg hail. Tell that to our German DUers, they are some of the coolest people Ive met here.

[MacCovern]

26. Austriaphobes!

Wow, I never thought I would see such hatred toward an entire populace
of a nation due to one native who emigrated to the United States.

My great-grandfather was Austrian, and to label all Austrians as nazis really makes my blood boil.

No matter what you think of Arnold's politics, the Hitler thing has been
completely debunked. Arnold helped break up neo-nazi political rallies, and his hometown still has a Jewish population that is very fond of him.

Don't let a political defeat turn you into an intolerant blabberer of lies.

and my middle name is WOLFGANG

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. I am SO glad

it's not a Brazilian.

[Red_Storm]

6. LOL !!!!!!!!!!

[onehandle]

9. Old Europe?

Who cares what those chocolate makers think?

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[booksenkatz]

12. Blecchhh

They've been smokin' waaaaaay too much edelweiss. It's easy for them to talk, thousands of miles away; they don't have to live under the policies that come from these freaks of nature known as Republicans.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

19. Thank You patsified!!!!

.

[xxqqqzme]

14. maybe they'll

have a big torch lit rally 4 him. Sort of a welcome back jesture.

[goforit]

15. California just Seceded to Austria!

Who would of thunk it!
Hitler's dream come true!!!!

[Superfly]

16. Oberammergau is in Germany

not Austria. About 1/2 hour from my home-town.

And, for the record, skiing in the Austrian Alps is amazing!

[ScotTissue]

18. I've loved my travels in Austria

The place and the people are wonderful. I could go for a drink of wine in a heurig right now!

[kskiska]

25. I drove through Graz back in 1971

on my way from Budapest to Italy, hoping to find a place to stay since it was getting late. There was a big convention in town, however, and every room was booked, so we drove on. It was a very pretty town, though. Arnold was unknown to me at the time. I loved Vienna.

[jsw_81]

20. Sieg Heil!

[maxanne]

21. the Austrians are happy

that we took Arnie off their hands.

I met a woman recently who is from his village. She said that when Arnie was a teen, his father was worried he wasn't even smart enough to become a cop. (apparently that was not a highly skilled profession at the time)

They're just happy to get rid of him. Hell, their womenfolk are safe!

[Arcturus]

22. My brother lived in Arnie's home town...

...for several months.

According to what he told me, they can't stand him there, and they think it's pretty hilarious that he's such a big star over here.

Of course, this was back in 1990, so things may have changed since.

[Darth_Kitten]

23. LOL

Gee, they really come crawling of the woodwork, don't they?

"Arnie's a good family man"

"Arnie didn't grope anybody because I didn't see it"

Gimme a break. ;)