Austria declares four days of mourning for late President
By Francis Obinor
AUSTRIA has declared four days of mourning for President Thomas Klestil, who died in a Vienna hospital last Tuesday.
Austrian Ambassador to Nigeria, Christoph Parasinni, who spoke to The Guardian yesterday from Abuja also said the late President, aged 71, would be laid in state at the presidential office, so that members of the public could pay their respects before his burial on Saturday.
"It was a great loss to Austria. He was a patriotic leader, who was until his death, a worthy leader to many Austrians. He was very well connected to late U.S. President Ronald Reagan having being an ambassador to United States and the United Nations".
He continued: "As a successful diplomat who also served two terms as President, he would have attended Reagan's burial but for his illness".
The envoy said a condolence book or register would be opened at the Ambassador's residence on Morocco Close, Ikoyi for the late President.
Parasinni explained that he would personally receive sympathisers at the premises between 9a.m and 1p.m as today through Saturday when he would be buried, but lamented that things were a bit slow because the embassy had not been moved to Abuja.
He recalled great moments with Klestil and said he was always kind to him as a leader who wanted the best for those working with him.
On whether the Nigerian government had sent condolence, he said members of the diplomatic corps had been doing so, and that the Nigerian government would do same today during the assumption of office of new President Heinz Fisher.
Klestil died of multiple organ failure after suffering a heart attack on Monday. Prior to his death, he was scheduled to leave his largely ceremonial post today to Fisher, who was elected in April.
"A lot of people have been coming to express condolence. The flag will be flown at half-mast because he did a lot for Austria. Until his last moment, he was very great for Austria," the envoy said.
Parasinni described Fisher as a focussed and ideological leader who would continue the good works of Klestill to make Austria great.
Vienna's General Hospital said on Tuesday, morning that tests had found "signs of an increasing worsening in the functioning of important organs, such as heart, hings, liver and kidneys.
Klestil won the respect, if not the affection of Austrians for repairing the damage to the country's international image caused by revelations about former president and UN Secretary-General - Kurt Waldheim's role in the German army under Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
The Austrian leader who received the highest order of the Catholic Sacrament also raised eyebrows of many traditionalists in the country when he took up with a young aide Margot Loeffler, prompting his wife of 37 years to walk out on him in 1994.
Klestil who took up the Austrian presidency in 1992 married Loeffler in 1998, shortly after being re-elected to a second six-year term .
A conservative like Cahncellor Wolfgang Schuessel, Klestil, was a critic of Schuessel's decision to forge a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party of Joery Hainder in 2000. The decision resulted in eight months of international diplomatic sanctions against Austria.
Senior politicians and family members gathered for a wake at the Hofburg palace yesterday, as soldiers carried the flag-draped coffin into a rose-filled state room.
In his tribute, German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder said: ""Austria has lost a statesman, Germany a friend and Europe a bridge-builder".
For his part, Italian president, Carlo Azeglio Gampi said: "The lucidity of his political mind and an extraordinary human strength distinguished a person who I was looked to by genuine friendship".
The head of state in Austria has mostly representative functions, but his voice counts on important issues and he can influence the formation of a government.
