Resignation Not Good Idea, Waldheim Says

Austrian President Kurt Waldheim was quoted today as saying he was sure Austria’s interests would not be served by his resignation, and an opinion poll supported him.

“I am convinced such a step would not be in the interests of the country,” Waldheim told the mass-circulation daily Krone, which also published an opinion poll finding 74% of Austrians believe he should stay in office.

“A resignation would be interpreted as an admission of guilt,” Waldheim said. “My opponents would say: ‘Aha, now he has lost his nerve. If he had a clear conscience, he would have stayed.’ ”

Only 19% of the Austrians polled thought he should resign.

Private Visits Banned

The Justice Department announced on Monday an entry ban against private visits by Waldheim because of suspicion about his war record.

Waldheim has said he has a clear conscience and denied any involvement in German war crimes. He has also called the American action an injustice for smearing him with guilt without evidence.

Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky said today that the entry ban must not drive Austria into isolation and he defended his own support for the former U.N. chief.

“I must take this position in the interests of the country as a whole, even if many of you do not share this view,” he told members of his Socialist Party, which campaigned against Waldheim’s election as president last year.

His speech at a May Day rally in front of Vienna Town Hall drew applause from much of the crowd of around 40,000, but also some derisive whistles and a cry of “Waldheim should resign.”

On Thursday, Vranitzky said he would go ahead with an official trip to the United States from May 17 to 24 despite misgivings expressed by Waldheim.