Far- right candidate loses in Austria
Van der Bellen wins over Hofer by less than 1% of ballots
Austrian anti- immigrant candidate VIENNA Norbert Hofer lost his bid Monday to become the first far- right president of a European country since World War II.
Hofer conceded to former Green Party chief Alexander Van der Bellen, who won a close race after hundreds of thousands of ballots cast bymail were counted. The Interior Ministry announced that the official tally showed Van der Bellen won 50.3% of the vote to 49.7% for Hofer.
“Dear Friends! I would like to thank you for your great support. Of course I’m sad today,” Hofer told his Freedom Party supporters in a post to his Facebook account. “I will remain loyal to you andmy contribution for a positive future in Austria.”
Van der Bellen told his jubilant supporters Monday, “I will try my best to earn the trust of Norbert Hofer’s voters.”
Speaking of his narrow victory margin, he said: “This is a symbol. We were talking a lot about dividing lines — left and right, city and countryside, young and old — but we can see it this way: We are equal. There are two halves that make up Austria, and both are equally important.”
More than 4.6 million ballots were cast.
Hofer led slightly among people who voted in person on Sunday, but Van der Bellen, who ran as an independent, pulled ahead when 750,000 ballots sent by mail were counted.
Many of those ballots were cast by Austrians living outside the country who opposed Hofer’s anti- immigration and anti- European Union stance.
Van der Bellen’s victory marks the first time since World War II that a candidate representing Austria’s two mainstream parties — the left- leaning Social Democrats and the conservative People’s Party — will not occupy the largely ceremonial presidency.
President Heinz Fischer, a Social Democrat, is barred from running again after serving two terms.