Politician wants Schwarzenegger to lose citizenship
California governor 'not worthy' to be Austrian
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should be stripped of citizenship in his
native Austria for approving the execution of a convicted killer, a
leading Austrian politician said Saturday.
Peter Pilz, a top official with the environmentalist Green Party,
said the Austria-born Schwarzenegger no longer is worthy of
citizenship in his homeland because he broke the law by clearing
Donald Beardslee's execution on Wednesday.
Capital punishment is illegal here, and Schwarzenegger -- who
holds dual U.S.-Austrian nationality -- should be stripped of his
Austrian passport for "heavily damaging the reputation of the
republic," Pilz said.
He told Austrian media he sent the Interior Ministry a letter
formally requesting that the government begin the process of
terminating Schwarzenegger's citizenship.
"Schwarzenegger is possibly the most prominent Austrian abroad,
and he shapes the picture of Austria," Pilz said.
"I don't want that picture shaped by someone who commits state
murder. That does not correspond to the political culture of this
country."
Calls to the Interior Ministry seeking comment went unanswered
Saturday.
It appeared unlikely that the Greens, a leftist opposition party
which holds just a handful of seats in parliament, would persuade
Austria's conservative government to revoke Schwarzenegger's
citizenship.
Rarely, if ever, has Austria taken the extraordinary step of
stripping someone of citizenship. Not even Kurt Waldheim, the former
Austrian president and U.N. secretary-general linked to Nazi war
crimes, had his citizenship revoked.
Beardslee, 61, convicted of killing two women over a drug deal
almost a quarter-century ago, became the first inmate put to death
by California three years when he was given a lethal injection at
San Quentin State Prison.
The execution came hours after Schwarzenegger rejected a clemency
petition seeking to commute the death sentence to life without
parole, and the California Supreme Court rejected two last-minute
appeals.
In Vienna, it triggered a small but spirited protest outside the
U.S. Embassy.
The backlash against Schwarzenegger underscores how he has lost
popularity in his homeland over his support for the death penalty.
Most Austrians -- and many other Europeans -- abhor capital
punishment as cruel and inhumane.
 Schwarzenegger is possibly the most prominent
Austrian abroad, and he shapes the picture of Austria. I
don't want that picture shaped by someone who commits
state murder. 
-- Peter Pilz, Austrian Green
Party | |
 |
In a straw vote held earlier in the week in the western province
of Upper Austria, fewer than 25 percent said they considered
Schwarzenegger fit to run the province.
It was a stark difference from six months ago, when Austria's
post office giddily issued a new "Arnie" stamp and Austrian
newspaper commentators urged Americans to amend the constitution to
let foreign-born citizens like Schwarzenegger run for president.
Pilz's Green Party has been especially riled by the governor's
pro-death penalty stance.
In the southern city of Graz, near Schwarzenegger's birthplace,
the Greens have led a drive to rename Schwarzenegger Stadium, a
15,350-seat soccer venue, because he supports capital
punishment.
Schwarzenegger was born in 1947 in the village of Thal just
outside Graz, where he began his bodybuilding career.
He emigrated to the United States in 1968 and became a
naturalized U.S. citizen in 1984, but has retained his Austrian
citizenship.
Pilz insists there are sufficient legal grounds to strip
Schwarzenegger of that citizenship: specifically, a clause in
Austria's nationality law stipulating that citizenship can be
revoked if an Austrian "in the service of another country
substantially damages the interests or reputation of the republic by
his or her behavior."
"Capital punishment is unacceptable in Austria and in Europe, and
no Austrian citizen may take part in it or arrange it," he
said.
Copyright 2005 The
Associated
Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
.gif){kind=small}
