Switzerland to receive new Austrian government soon

The Swiss government has confirmed that Austria's chancellor, Wolfgang Schüssel (pictured), and the foreign minister, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, will come to Switzerland on an official visit.

The Swiss government has confirmed that Austria’s chancellor, Wolfgang Schüssel, and the foreign minister, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, will come to Switzerland on an official visit.

The announcement follows weeks of uncertainty as to how to deal with Austria’s new coalition which includes the far-right Freedom Party. A government spokesman said no date had yet been set for the visit but that it was hoped it would take place soon.

He said it would offer a good opportunity to discuss the problems related to Vienna’s new government. Austria’s 14 fellow European Union membes have frozen bilateral ties with Vienna because of the Freedom Party’s presence in the government. Israel has withdrawn its ambassador from Austria until further notice.

The Swiss foreign minister, Joseph Deiss, has been put in charge of arranging the meeting. The Austrian chancellor and foreign minister traditionally come to Switzerland on their first foreign visit, and Berne has made it clear from the beginning on that it did not want to break with tradition.

But the Swiss government has been cautious in its response to the inclusion of the Freedom Party in Austria’s ruling coalition. It said it would watch the situation closely and would judge the government by its actions.

In first reactions, the Social Democrats expressed regret at the decision, and said they expected the government to make its disquiet known during the Austrian leaders’ visit. The three other government parties welcomed the government’s stance.

Last week, the president of the Federation of Jewish Associations in Switzerland, Rolf Bloch, urged the government not press ahead with an invitation too early. He called on Berne to wait at least until the summer, to see how the new coalition in Vienna was performing.

From staff and wire reports