Austrian Minister sheds long locks for 'good cause'

Vienna, Feb 10: A 51-year-old Austrian cabinet minister has shed the long hair and moustache he'd worn since age 16 to raise money for the homeless.

With billowing silver mane and luxuriant moustache, Erwin Buchinger had stood out among his close-cropped or coiffed cabinet colleagues in the formal, baroque settings of Austrian government.

But, fulfilling a pledge when the government was sworn in a month ago, the Social Affairs minister submitted to a barber on Thursday in front of popping media cameras, raising 12,500 euros for Vienna's homeless association.

''I decided it was worth sacrificing my hair and moustache for a good cause,'' Buchinger told ORF public television.

Critics said he had achieved little since taking office and accused him of a publicity stunt.

Reuters