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Austrians cheer on Schwarzenegger
GRAZ, Austria -- "Governator" and "Stars and Stripes" cocktails were the drinks of choice as hundreds of partygoers in Arnold Schwarzenegger's home region packed bars into the early morning as they cheered on their native son's bid to become California governor. Newspapers carried "Good luck, Arnold" banners and elsewhere, paraphernalia of the famous bodybuilder-cum-actor-cum-politician littered store windows and bar interiors in the southern Austrian city of Graz -- just a few kilometers from Schwarzenegger's boyhood home village of Thal. Schwarzenegger is a favorite son of Graz. There is a museum dedicated to him and the city's main football stadium is named in his honor. Indeed, support for Schwarzenegger runs deep here, despite the slurs that have arisen against his name during the election campaign. His rise to governor has given many Austrians a reason to feel good about themselves, locals say -- perhaps because there are so many forms of Arnold Schwarzenegger -- the Terminator, the successful businessman, the politician, the bodybuilder. "Even in his first year, you could see how fast he progressed and his muscles grew," says Kurt Marnul, Schwarzenegger's first trainer who remembered the young Arnold as a reserved boy obsessed with developing his muscles. "He was two steps ahead of everyone else. He was driven. Sometimes torturing himself, he worked so hard, determined to be the best in the world." Schwarzenegger's California race led Austrian television news every night this past week, especially after the allegations of groping and sexual harassment. Though some in California and beyond branded him a "groper", in his native Austria, even among women there seemed a collective disbelief he engaged in sexual misdeeds. "I am sure it is just a lie because he's too honest," says one local Graz woman.
Other claims that Schwarzenegger made admiring comments about Hitler were also refuted. Albert Kaufmann, a well known Austrian businessman and Jewish activist had a grandfather in Dachau concentration camp. He gets livid at the suggestion Arnold admired Hitler. "This is extremely unfair. It is so unjust. He was pro-Jewish and supported me in my activities against Hitler ideology and neo-Nazism for years now," Kaufmann told CNN. Looking for Arnold in Austria also reveals a genuinely romantic streak in the man. The local lake Thaler-See was where Schwarzenegger wanted to propose marriage to Maria Shriver. Local legend has it that he rowed her out into the lake, and popped the question. With Schwarzenegger still a part of Austrian memory, it is no surprise he has garnered much support in native country, from celebrities such as former Formula 1 driver Nikki Lauda to politicians Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser to local business people. "Arnold has done a lot for this country and this town -- and our economy," Urs Hanik-Lauris, CEO of Energy Graz, the local electricity provider told The Associated Press. "Because of him, we can show the world that our region is linked to the bigger world." "He's an idol," 17-year old school student Thomas Sutter told AP. "He comes from a poor background and he made it big -- and he remains a real human being." It seems that though Schwarzenegger left Austria 35 years ago and became a U.S. citizen in 1984, his home region will now find it even harder to forget the once shy young man who became an American state governor. -- CNN Correspondent Walter Rodgers contributed to this report. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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