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Austrian far-right party wins first round of presidential election Austrian far-right party wins first round of presidential election
(about 5 hours later)
Austria’s anti-immigration far right has triumphed in the first round of the presidential election, with candidates from the two governing parties failing to even make it into a runoff vote next month. Austria’s far-right won more than a third of the vote in the presidential election on Sunday and will face an independent in next month’s run-off, dumping out the country’s two main parties from the post for the first time.
Norbert Hofer of the Freedom party (FPOe) won 36.7% of the vote, followed by Alexander Van der Bellen backed by the Greens on 19.7% and independent candidate Irmgard Griss on 18.8%, projections showed. It was the Freedom Party’s best result in a national election after a campaign that focused on the impact of the crisis caused by the arrival of approximately 100,000 asylum seekers in Austria since last summer.
From the governing coalition, Rudolf Hundstorfer from the Social Democrats (SPOe) came joint fourth with just 11.2%, level with Andreas Khol from the People’s party (OeVP). Norbert Hofer, who ran on an anti-immigrant and anti-Europe platform, won 36.4% of the vote to become head of state. He will face Alexander Van der Bellen, a former Green party figurehead, who won 20.4%, according to official preliminary results.
The result means that, for the first time since 1945, Austria will not have a president backed by either the SPOe or OeVP. While the presidency is largely a ceremonial role, the fact that neither of the main ruling parties will be battling for the post on 22 May marks a major change in Austrian politics – as well as the rising role of the far-right in Europe.
Support for the two parties has been sliding for years and in the last general election in 2013 they only just garnered enough support to re-form Chancellor Werner Faymann’s grand coalition. Members of the centre-left Social Democrats and the conservative People’s party held onto the job since it was first put to a popular vote in 1951. The two parties have ruled the nation of 8.7 million in tandem for most of the postwar era.
It was the best ever result at federal level for the FPOe, whose entry into government in 2000 under the late SS-admiring Jörg Haider sent shockwaves through Europe. The president is head of state, swears in the chancellor, has the authority to dismiss the cabinet and is commander in chief of the military.
Facing Hofer on 22 May will instead be either Van der Bellen or Griss, a former judge hoping to be Austria’s first female president. The election outcome was “a resounding slap in the face” for the government coalition, said Wolfgang Bachmayer, who founded market research institute OGM.
Having a president in the Habsburg dynasty’s former palace in Vienna not from either of the two main parties could shake up the traditionally staid and consensus-driven world of Austrian politics. His comments were echoed by political analyst Peter Filzmaier. “Only those who are satisfied vote for a government party or its candidate,” he said. “This time, the annoyed voted for Norbert Hofer.”
Hofer – the “friendly face of the FPOe” who likes to carry his Glock gun in public – has threatened to sack the government if it fails to get tougher on migrants. Around 70% of eligible voters cast their ballots, a big turnout compared with around 50% six years ago when Social Democrat Heinz Fischer, now 77, was elected for his second term. He could not run for a third term.
The only candidate who fared worse than the main parties’ candidates was Richard Lugner, an 83-year-old construction magnate and socialite married to a former Playboy model 57 years his junior, who won 2.4%. Peter McDonald, general secretary of co-ruling People’s party acknowledged the scale of the defeat after coming fifth in the poll, with just 11.2% of the vote. “We have experienced a landslide that should give the entire political centre food for thought,” he said.
The next general election is due in 2018. The FPOe is currently leading national opinion polls with more than 30% of voter support, boosted by Europe’s migrant crisis. The social democratic chancellor Werner Faymann, whose party ranked fourth, said the outcome was a clear warning to the government to work harder and cooperate better.
Should Hofer get the top job, he could push to bring forward a parliamentary election due to take place in 2018 as support for his party has been growing. Polls show the Freedom party above 30%, while the coalition parties would struggle to get a combined majority.
Showing the far-right’s growing confidence in Europe, Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Front, hailed a “beautiful result”, writing on Twitter: “Bravo to the Austrian people”.
Both the candidates who made it through to the run-off had taken aim at the government over its handling of the migrant crisis. Van der Bellen criticised the government for being too harsh in its treatment of asylum applicants, while Hofer said it had been too soft.
“It could hardly be any more dramatic,” said political consultant Thomas Hofer, adding that he thought Van der Bellen would face a difficult task to win the run-off with the gap between him and Hofer.
Neither Faymann nor vice chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner from the People’s party said they would make any recommendation for the run-off. Voters should decide independently, they said.