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| Far-right candidate narrowly defeated in Austrian presidential election | Far-right candidate narrowly defeated in Austrian presidential election |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A leftwing independent candidate has narrowly prevented Austria from becoming the first EU country to elect a far-right head of state, squeaking home by a tiny margin as the country’s new president after a knife-edge contest ended with his opponent conceding defeat. | |
| Alexander Van der Bellen, a 72-year-old retired economics professor backed by the Austrian Green party, defeated his far-right opponent Norbert Hofer only after 700,000 postal ballots – about 10% of the available votes – were taken into account. | |
| In a post on Facebook, Hofer wrote: “Dear friends, I thank you for your fantastic support. Of course today I am sad. I would have liked to have watched out for you as president of our wonderful country.” | In a post on Facebook, Hofer wrote: “Dear friends, I thank you for your fantastic support. Of course today I am sad. I would have liked to have watched out for you as president of our wonderful country.” |
| The two rivals had finished neck and neck in Sunday’s elections, with Van der Bellen scoring 48.1% against the 51.9% collected by Hofer, from the Eurosceptic, anti-immigrant Freedom party. | |
| Austrian media reported that after postal votes were counted, Van der Bellen had 50.2% and Hofer 49.8% – a margin of just 0.4 percentage points. An official announcement from the interior ministry was expected later on Monday afternoon. | Austrian media reported that after postal votes were counted, Van der Bellen had 50.2% and Hofer 49.8% – a margin of just 0.4 percentage points. An official announcement from the interior ministry was expected later on Monday afternoon. |
| Many Austrian websites went down under the weight of traffic as the country waited for news of the final result. | Many Austrian websites went down under the weight of traffic as the country waited for news of the final result. |
| Muhannad Mohamad, 20, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Austria 18 months ago, was poised over a laptop in his Vienna flat. “Today they will choose the direction Austria will go in possibly for the next decades,” he said. | Muhannad Mohamad, 20, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Austria 18 months ago, was poised over a laptop in his Vienna flat. “Today they will choose the direction Austria will go in possibly for the next decades,” he said. |
| The Austrian presidency is a largely ceremonial role but has some significant powers, including the possibility of dismissing the cabinet. | The Austrian presidency is a largely ceremonial role but has some significant powers, including the possibility of dismissing the cabinet. |
| Mirroring the rise of populist parties across Europe, the Freedom party exploited anti-EU and anti-immigrant sentiment in the wake of the continent’s refugee crisis. The election revealed a deep split over the direction the country should now take. | Mirroring the rise of populist parties across Europe, the Freedom party exploited anti-EU and anti-immigrant sentiment in the wake of the continent’s refugee crisis. The election revealed a deep split over the direction the country should now take. |
| In a reflection of voters’ dissatisfaction with mainstream politics, the candidates of the centre-left Social Democrats and conservative People’s party, which have dominated Austria’s politics since the second world war, were both eliminated in the first round of voting in late April. Werner Faymann, the social democratic chancellor, resigned earlier this month. | In a reflection of voters’ dissatisfaction with mainstream politics, the candidates of the centre-left Social Democrats and conservative People’s party, which have dominated Austria’s politics since the second world war, were both eliminated in the first round of voting in late April. Werner Faymann, the social democratic chancellor, resigned earlier this month. |
| Viennese coffee houses reportedly set aside separate areas for supporters of the rival candidates over fears of clashes. | Viennese coffee houses reportedly set aside separate areas for supporters of the rival candidates over fears of clashes. |