Fang den Haider

Nobody had greater appeal to many Austrians than the FPÖ leader Jörg Haider. His electorate could never say with certainty what exactly it was they voted for: An ideology? A friend? Or a man who gave away money and made a whole heap of promises? A loud whisper spread across Europe when the right-wing populist entered the Austrian parliament in 1999. Following his death by car accident in 2008, Haider became a myth, something faithful companions and critics are still working to understand today. But who was this man really? And how is it that even following a corruption scandal, Haider is still being heralded as a hero? Belgian filmmaker Nathalie Borgers makes her way to Kärnten to find out. She explores Haider’s geographic and emotional homeland, his associates and his family in probably the only way possible: from the outside. Her discoveries range from the absurdly comical to the outlandishly irritating.