VIENNA, Austria -- Joerg Haider, who catapulted his party into a powerful force in Austrian politics with a mix of folksy aphorisms, in-your-face attacks on rivals and provocative praise of the Nazi era, died Saturday in a car accident. He was 58.

His death on a little-traveled stretch of southern Austrian highway left Austria without the politician best known outside the country -- although Haider, governor of Carinthia province, never held a post in the national government.

Alone at the wheel, Haider was overtaking another motorist when his car veered off the road, crashed into a concrete pillar and overturned. He died of multiple injuries. Authorities said they did not suspect foul play but were investigating.

Although he was commonly labeled a rightist, Haider was more a populist who defied categorization, often swiftly embracing positions at odds with his early reputation as an admirer of Nazi times and a hater of foreigners.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer called Haider's death a "human tragedy." Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer expressed his condolences to Haider's family and said he had shaped Austria's domestic political landscape over decades.

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