Anti-migrant candidate loses in Austria
A pro-European Union candidate ekes out a victory over a right-wing rival to become the next president.
VIENNA — A pro-European Union candidate eked out a victory Monday over a right-wing, antimigrant rival to become Austria’s next president, in a tight contest viewed Europe-wide as a proxy fight pitting the continent’s political center against its growingly strong populist and anti-establishment movements.
European mainstream parties joined supporters of Alexander Van der Bellen in congratulating him on his victory over Norbert Hofer, with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier declaring. “All of Europe is now breathing more easily.”
But with less than a percentage point separating the two, Hofer’s Freedom Party and its allies across Europe also had reason to celebrate what they cast as a major political surge by one of their own.
Hofer had been narrowly ahead of Van der Bellen, a Greens politician running as an independent, after the counting of votes directly cast on Sunday. But around 700,000 absentee ballots still remained to be tallied Monday, and those numbers swung the victory to Van der Bellen.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said Van der Bellen collected 50.3 percent of the votes compared with 49.7 percent for Hofer of the Freedom Party. Only a little more than 31,000 votes separated the two, out of more than 4.6 million ballots cast.
The results diminish the scenario that Austria’s political landscape could immediately move away from its centrist political image through a new president who could oppose the government’s EU-friendly policies.
Still, the narrow margin for Van der Bellen is the latest indication that Europe’s anti-establishment parties are gaining influence.
Hofer announced his defeat shortly before the official announcement thanking his backers for their support.
He acknowledged he is “naturally sad,” adding: “I would have been happy to have cared for our wonderful country as federal president.” His post said that the work of his supporters during the election is “not lost but an investment in the future.”