Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider had been drinking when he died in a high-speed crash of his car at the weekend, a party official said today.

"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 head of Haider's Alliance for Austria's Future party.

Haider, 58, was killed in the early hours of Saturday when the car he was driving at 142 kmh, around twice the speed limit, crashed off a road in the southern province of Carinthia, where he served as governor.

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