Modern Austria has always had a dubious past. It claims to be the first victim of Nazism, but more than half a million Austrians were Nazi party members during Hitler's time in a population of little more than 6 million.

This is not to deny that many Austrian citizens, especially the young, deplore their recent past, but the country has not done enough to counter neo-Nazi groups that have existed since World War II right up to the present day. These chickens are now very much coming home to roost.

Less than three months ago, the Freedom Party of Austria, or FPO, took second place and won 26 percent of the vote in municipal elections in Vienna. This was much too close for comfort and should serve as an alarming wake-up call to the mainstream governing Social Democrats and the People's Party who usually garner between 25 and 30 percent of the vote. This election was no aberration. It came a fortnight after the FPO doubled its share of the votes in elections in the province of Styria.

While the FPO is not openly anti- Semitic or anti-Asian per se, the party and its charismatic leader, Heinz- Christian Strache, have their roots firmly in the region's Nazi past.

Like many parties across Europe, the FPO is decidedly anti-immigrant. But unlike many of those parties, it was also an early entrant into the xenophobic hate game.

At a time when Christmas songs professing brotherhood and love have barely left our lips, it is sobering to note that the FPO is focusing not on things Christian but on attacking Turkish and Central European Muslims.

The rhetoric of hate spills over to other groups. It should surprise no one that racist and anti-Semitic incidents in Austria have skyrocketed in the last few years.

May 28 of this year will be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Austria and China. Along with the bonhomie and platitudes that accompany such celebrations, let us hope that China, with its increasing power and prestige in the world, will publicly and privately encourage the Austrian authorities to protect Chinese and other nationalities within its borders.

Doing so will help banish the ghosts that have long haunted these parts and help drive a stake through the heart of hatred and intolerance.

The author is former director and vice president at ABC Television. He spends most of his time in Beijing working on media projects. hdzodin@hotmail.com