In Sept. 2002, the coalition between the People's Party and the Freedom Party dissolved after a shake-up in the Freedom Party, instigated by Haider. In Nov. 2002, the People's Party made large gains in general elections.
After failed coalition talks with other parties, the People's Party again formed a government with the Freedom Party in Feb. 2003. A government plan to overhaul the country's pension program led to widespread strikes in May and June 2003—the first national strikes in decades.
In 2004, Heinz Fischer, known as the “left conscience” of the Social Democrat Party, was elected to the largely ceremonial role of president.
Austria's tough laws against Nazi propaganda led to a three-year prison sentence for infamous British historian David Irving, who pleaded guilty in Feb. 2006 to denying the Holocaust. In Dec. 2006, he was released from prison early, and deported to England.
Three months after elections, Austria's two main parties formed a coalition government in Jan. 2007. The leader of the Social Democrats, Alfred Gusenbauer, became chancellor.
Parliament passed a law in June 2007 that lowered the voting age in Austria to 16.
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