Thread: Austria's presidential election Sunday could bring victory for far-right candidate

Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer of the right-wing Freedom Party at a campaign rally in Vienna on May 20,2016.
(Joe Klamar /AFP/Getty Images)

Austria's presidential election Sunday could bring victory for far-right candidate

Erik Kirschbaum

A conservative candidate for Austria's presidency who opposes immigrants, Muslims and a proposed transatlantic free trade agreement may win Sunday’s election in a vote that could herald a lurch to the right across Europe.

If victorious, Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party would be the first far-right head of state elected in a western European country since the end of World War II.

The 45-year-old former aeronautical engineer is considered the front-runner after upsetting candidates from the country's two major parties, who finished fourth and fifth in the first-round election last month, by winning 35% of the vote. He is favored to defeat independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen, who finished second with 21% of the vote.

The collapse in the April 24 first round of voting by the ruling Social Democrats and their conservative People’s Party allies led a government upheaval this month when Chancellor Werner Faymann abruptly resigned after more than seven years in power. A new chancellor, Christian Kern, the former chairman of the national railways, was sworn into office this week.

“The politicians currently running the country are in the process of destroying, in just a few short months, everything that our parents and grandparents have built up over decades,” Hofer said, referring to the influx of refugees that he has railed so tirelessly against in his campaign speeches and interviews.

Some analysts said a victory by Hofer on Sunday could galvanize far-right movements across Europe. Austria could become a bellwether for electoral shifts to the right in France, Germany, Britain and elsewhere in the months ahead, they said.

But it could also tarnish Austria’s image – an important consideration for a country heavily dependent on foreign trade and tourism.

“It’s similar to what [U.S. presidential candidate Donald] Trump has done,” Dieter Segert, a political scientist at the University of Vienna, said in an interview. “He seems to be standing up for the little guy. He focused on middle-class white voters who feel like they’re losing out and feel threatened by the migrants, refugees and globalization.

“Hofer’s feeding off a sense of frustration and positioned himself as someone who is ready to take on the political classes that aren’t looking out for their interests any more,” Segert said.

Right-wing governments opposed to European Union efforts to take in refugees fleeing wars in the Middle East and Asia are already firmly in power to Austria’s east in Hungary as well as to north in the Czech Republic and Poland.

But growing disenchantment over the migrant crisis has also fueled far-right movements in Germany, where the Alternative for Germany party had a strong showing in a recent state election, and in France, where Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front is leading the ruling Socialists in opinion polls a year before beleaguered President Francois Hollande tries to win re-election. In Britain, the immigration issue is also strengthening the far right and could help turn a referendum next month on whether the country should leave the European Union.

“It could be a dangerous precedent for all of Europe if Hofer wins on Sunday,” said Hajo Funke, a political scientist at Berlin’s Free University and a European authority on the far-right. “Europe isin a pretty fragile condition at the moment and there would be a spillover effect for voters in Germany, France and Britain if Hofer and his anti-democratic party wins.”

The office of president in Austria is largely ceremonial. But among the president’s powers, as spelled out in a constitution from 1929, is the authority to dismiss a government or refuse to swear in a new leader. Although those powers were never used by center-left or center-right presidents before, Hofer has said he would bring “a new understanding” of the presidential powers with him if he wins.

It isn’t the first presidential election in Austria to draw unwanted international attention. In 1986 former U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim was elected president as voters defied protests from abroad following revelations that he had served in the Wehrmacht as a young officer and translator near sites of Nazi war crimes in the Balkans.

Hofer has vowed to put “Austria first” and “stop the invasions of Muslims.” Unemployment in Austria has doubled to around 10% since the last parliamentary elections in 2013. Hofer says that “things are going downhill in Austria and the country needs someone who will do something about it.”

Peter Filzmaier, a political science professor at the Donau University in Krems, said he doubts Hofer will dare to do anything as radical as dismiss the government two years before the next scheduled election in 2018.

But he said the phenomenon of his electoral strength in Austria will carry over to other countries across Europe.

“There are a lot of angry, disappointed people out there,” Filzmaier said in an interview. “Like Trump, he’s got support from the losers of the modernization process. They’ve got lower incomes or are finding it harder to find a job or a good job. They don’t think there’s enough national pride. I think the mood in Austria symbolizes the mood in a lot of European countries and if he wins there will be discussions about the problem in a lot of places across Europe.”

Austria's presidential election Sunday could bring victory for far-right candidate - LA Times

Austrian election could produce first EU far-right head of state

Sun May 22, 2016 2:46am EDT By Francois Murphy and Michael Shields

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria could elect the European Union's first far-right head of state on Sunday, with support for Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer buoyed by a migration crisis that has heightened fears about employment and security.

Opinion polls suggest the presidential race between Hofer and former Greens leader Alexander van der Bellen will be close-run. A far-right victory would resonate throughout the 28-member bloc where migration driven by conflict and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere has become a major political issue.

The first polling stations opened early on Sunday. A projection will be published when the last close at 5 p.m. (1000 EDT), and the result is due to be announced after 7 p.m.

Austria took in 90,000 asylum seekers last year, more than 1 percent of its population, many of them shortly after it and neighboring Germany threw open their borders last autumn to a wave of migrants including refugees from Syria's civil war.

The government has since clamped down on immigration and asylum, but that about-face only fueled support for the far right, which was already capitalizing on widespread frustration with the country's two traditional parties of government.

Sunday's run-off election comes four weeks after Hofer unexpectedly won the first round with 35 percent of the vote.

The president traditionally plays a largely ceremonial role but swears in the chancellor, can dismiss the cabinet and is commander in chief of the military.

Whoever wins, the election is likely to be a new high-water mark for Europe's resurgent far right, all the more significant for being in a relatively prosperous country with comparatively low, albeit rising,

unemployment. Continued... Austrian election could produce first EU far-right head of state

Austria votes in run-off between far-right and independent

5 hours ago From the section Europe

Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe run-off between Alexander Van der Bellen, left, and Norbert Hofer,
has upended Austrian politics

Austrians have begun voting in a presidential run-off poll that could elect the European Union's first far-right leader.

Norbert Hofer, of the Freedom Party, faces independent Alexander Van der Bellen, backed by the Greens.

Mr Hofer topped the first vote but fell well short of an outright majority. The run-off is expected to be close.

For the first time since World War Two, both the main centrist parties were knocked out in the first round.

The migrant crisis has become the key issue.

Ninety-thousand people claimed asylum in Austria last year, equivalent to about 1% of the Austrian population, and the Freedom Party has run a campaign against immigration.

While the presidency is a largely ceremonial post, the president has powers to dismiss the government - something Mr Hofer has already threatened to do.

And a Hofer victory could be the springboard for Freedom Party success in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2018.

Europe will be watching: Bethany Bell, BBC News, Vienna

Austria is faced with a stark choice for its head of state: a Green Party professor, Alexander Van der Bellen, or Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party - a soft-spoken, charismatic gun enthusiast who won a decisive victory in the first round of voting in April.

For the first time since the Second World War, the traditional parties of the centre left and centre right were knocked out of the race.

Support for the Freedom Party has risen because of deep frustration with the established parties and, more recently, because of fears about the migrant crisis.

Right-wing parties are gaining strength in a number of EU countries. European leaders will be watching the result closely.

Polls opened at 07:00 (05:00 GMT) and close at 17:00, with projected results expected shortly afterwards.

However, postal ballots, which could be crucial if the result is close, will only be tallied on Monday.

In the first round, Mr Hofer, 45, secured 35% of the votes, while Mr Van der Belle polled 21%.

At his final election rally on Friday in Vienna, Mr Hofer, 45, sought to hammer home his message that immigrants needed to integrate.

"Those people who respect and love Austria and have found a new home here are warmly welcome," he said to applause.

"But those, it has to be said, those who do not value our country, who fight for Islamic State, or who rape women, I say to these people: this is not your homeland. You cannot stay in Austria."

The presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, have both expressed concern that Mr Hofer could win.

"I say to them very politely but firmly: we don't take orders from Brussels or Berlin," Mr Hofer said at the rally.

Mr Van der Bellen told his final rally in Vienna that it was likely to be a close race.

"I think it could be on a knife edge - 50-50 who will win, so this time, as with previous votes, but more than ever for this important election, every vote will count," he said.

At a news conference, he reflected: "As you know, I am 72 years old and I've experienced how Austria rose from the ruins of World War Two, caused by the madness of nationalism."

The two rivals had engaged in an angry TV debate earlier in the week, described as "political mud-wrestling" by commentators.

First round shock

Such was the political shock at the far right's first-round win that the Chancellor (prime minister), Werner Faymann, resigned after losing the support of his Social Democratic party colleagues.

The Social Democrats and the People's Party have governed Austria for decades, either alone or in coalition.

At the last general election in 2013, they together won just enough votes to govern in a "grand coalition".

Incumbent President Heinz Fischer, 77, could not run again after two terms in office.

Austria votes in key test for far-right

Austria presidential vote: Hofer leads but results too close to call

The far-right candidate in Austria's presidential run-off is marginally ahead, exit polls suggest, but the race is still too close to call.

Austrian public TV gives Norbert Hofer a lead of 50.1% over 49.9% for independent Alexander Van deer Belen, with a margin of error of 1.8 points.

For the first time since World War Two, both the main centrist parties were knocked out in the first round.

A key issue in the campaign was Europe's migrant crisis.

About 90,000 people claimed asylum in Austria last year, equivalent to about 1% of the Austrian population, and the Freedom Party ran an anti-immigration campaign.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but a Hofer victory could be the springboard for Freedom Party success in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2018.

The presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, have both expressed concern over a Hofer victory.

Europe will be watching: Bethany Bell, BBC News, Vienna

Austria is faced with a stark choice for its head of state: a Green Party professor, Alexander Van der Bellen, or Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party - a soft-spoken, charismatic gun enthusiast who won a decisive victory in the first round of voting in April.

For the first time since the Second World War, the traditional parties of the centre left and centre right were knocked out of the race.

Support for the Freedom Party has risen because of deep frustration with the established parties and, more recently, because of fears about the migrant crisis.

Right-wing parties are gaining strength in a number of EU countries. European leaders will be watching the result closely.

An exit poll quoted by Die Presse daily just after polls closed gave the Freedom Party candidate 50.9% to 49.1% for the independent. The margin of error for that poll was unclear.

First official results are expected later on Sunday but postal ballots, which may prove crucial in such a close race, will only be tallied on Monday.

In the first round, Mr Hofer secured 35% of the votes, while Mr Van der Bellen polled 21%.

At his final election rally on Friday in Vienna, Mr Hofer, 45, sought to hammer home his message that immigrants needed to integrate, attacking those who "do not value our country, who fight for Islamic State, or who rape women".

Mr Van der Bellen, 72, condemned the "madness of nationalism" during his election campaign.

The two rivals had engaged in an angry TV debate earlier in the week, described as "political mud-wrestling" by commentators.

Political upset

Such was the political shock at the far right's first-round win that the Chancellor (prime minister), Werner Faymann, resigned after losing the support of his Social Democratic party colleagues.

The Social Democrats and the People's Party have governed Austria for decades, either alone or in coalition.

At the last general election in 2013, they together won just enough votes to govern in a "grand coalition".

Incumbent President Heinz Fischer, 77, could not run again after two terms in office.

Austria presidential vote: Hofer leads but results too close to call

Austrian presidential candidates both at 50 percent

By George Jahn | AP May 22 at 12:19 PM

VIENNA — Nearly final results for Austria’s presidential election show a right-wing politician neck-to-neck race with a challenger whose views stand in direct opposition to his rival’s anti-immigrant and Eurosceptic message.

At 91.6 percent of the vote counted, right-winger Norbert Hofer and Alexander Van der Bellen, a Greens politician running as an independent, both have 50 percent support.

Candidates backed by the dominant Social Democratic and centrist People’s Party were eliminated in last month’s first round, which means neither party would hold the presidency for the first time since the end of the war. That reflects disillusionment with the status quo and their approach to the migrant crisis and other issues.

First results show right-winger ahead in Austrian election

First results show right-winger ahead in Austrian election

In Dramatic Outcome, Austria's Right Wing Presidential Candidate Is Defeated Thanks To Postal Votes

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/23/2016 10:29 -0400

After yesterday's presidential run-off round, the leader of Austria's anti-immigration, right-wing party, Norbert Hofer held a comfortable lead based on votes from the ground, with Hofer leading the independent, pro-EU candidate Van der Bellen by 51.9% to 48.1%, according to interior ministry data. However, in the end it all came down to the postal votes, and as BBC reports, the Green Party leader, Alexander Van der Bellen has won Austria's presidential election, preventing Norbert Hofer from becoming the EU's first far-right head of state, the BBC has been told.

The victory of Van der Beldern, who ran on a campaign of "I've experienced how Austria rose from the ruins of World War Two, caused by the madness of nationalism" will come as a big surprise to many local voters, who had expected a Hofer victory following a dramatic first round in the presidential election which saw him sweep his competition including the Green party candidate.



Mr Van der Bellen campaigned on a pro-EU platform,
backed by the Green Party

The 750,000 postal votes - roughly 12% of Austria's 6.4 million registered voters - swayed the result. In the domestic vote, Van der Bellen came top in nine out of Austria's 10 main cities, while Mr Hofer dominated rural areas.

While the Austrian presidency is largely a ceremonial post, the president does have the power to dissolve the National Council - the more powerful lower house of parliament - and so trigger a general election.

But the victory by the right-wing Hofer would have been far more symbolic, and would highlight the sharp divisions in Austrian society, one of Europe's more affluent.

As a result, the EU had a distinct interest in not seeing him end up with the victory, and sure enough, that is precisely what happened.

And moments ago, the Austrian Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache conceded his party’s defeat in presidential elections in a posting on his Facebook page. Despite a strong campaign, Freedom candidate Norbert Hofer finished “millimeters” short of victory, Strache said. Austria’s Interior Ministry is expected to announce the full results this afternoon.

Let the Diebold conspiracy theories begin.

In Dramatic Outcome, Austria's Right Wing Presidential Candidate Is Defeated Thanks To Postal Votes

Good luck with your flood of Muslim invaders, Austria.


http://american-rattlesnake.org/2016...breaking-news/