Prominent Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider was over the legal drinking limit when he died in a high-speed crash in his car at the weekend, a party official said today.
Mr Haider (58) was killed in the early hours of Saturday when the car he was driving at 142kmh (88 mph), around twice the speed limit, crashed off a road in the southern province of Carinthia, where he served as governor.
"It is correct that ... Joerg Haider was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. I can, and must, confirm that," said Stefan Petzner, the new leader of Haider's Alliance for Austria's Future party.
Austrian media reported that the amount of alcohol in Mr Haider's blood was nearly four times the legal limit.
Mr Petzner, who had been Mr Haider's spokesman, urged the media to stop speculating over the circumstances of his mentor's death.
"Press the 'stop' button right now and end the coverage of the accident," he said, pointing out that no one else was injured in the crash. "Joerg Haider has paid the greatest price possible: his life."
Mr Haider's charismatic populism was instrumental in moving anti-immigrant politics from Europe's fringes towards the mainstream and breaking the grip on government of established centrist parties which he said had lost touch with the people.
He was driving to his rural home near Klagenfurt for a family reunion when the accident occurred.
The government car he was driving skidded out of control after he overtook another vehicle and hit a concrete traffic barrier, flipping over several times. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital soon afterwards.
A public funeral for Mr Haider, who was both divisive and enduringly popular in Austria, is to be held on Saturday in Klagenfurt, where he had been state governor since 1999.
Reuters