Forum bars Haider for insulting German minister

Jorg Haider, Austria's far-right firebrand, has been barred from a conference in Berlin for insulting Joschka Fischer, Germany's Foreign Minister.

Mr Haider, the former and still de facto head of Austria's Freedom Party, was due to speak today on the rise of right-wing populism in Europe. But Mr Fischer said he would not take part in a forum at which Mr Haider was present.

Mr Haider said he was glad the Green politician would not be attending, since he preferred not be at an event at which "someone with clear sympathies for terrorism" would be in attendance. The remark referred to Mr Fischer's days as a left-wing activist in 1970s Frankfurt.

Mr Fischer's past came under scrutiny last year when photographs were published of him participating in a street clash with police. He also appeared as a character witness for Hans-Joachim Klein, who was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for his role in a 1975 terrorist attack on an Opec meeting in Vienna.

There were calls for the Foreign Minister's resignation, but Mr Fischer stood his ground and remains one of Germany's most popular politicians. The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, one of the conference's organisers, described Mr Haider's comments as "unacceptable" and said they had rendered serious discussion at the forum "impossible".

Mr Haider said his exclusion showed the "miserable state of freedom of expression" in Germany. He reminded voters of Mr Fischer's support for diplomatic sanctions imposed on Austria when the Freedom Party entered a government coalition in 2000. Mr Haider said: "I cannot and never will respect someone like that."