More than 40 years after the Green Party emerged as a global political force, Austria’s Alexander Van der Bellen became the first politician to emerge from the movement to be voted head of state in a national election.
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The run-off election was too close to call after ballots cast in polling stations were counted on Sunday, with Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer holding a slight lead, meaning postal votes would determine the victor.
The Interior Ministry count gave Van der Bellen 50.3 percent of the vote, compared to 49.7 percent for Hofer, who had run on an anti-immigration platform.
For an American looking at this (and I was actually in Vienna for much of last week during the final days of the run-off campaign), there was a distinct sense that I was looking at a possible scenario for the upcoming United States general election.
“It’s now clear: Alexander van der Bellen will be the new president”, Austria’s Die Presse newspaper reported.
Hofer’s strong showing is indicative a broader shift in Austria, as the country’s previously entrenched centrist parties have collapsed and politics has polarized.
He beat the far-right candidate Norbert Hofer, who was the favourite and whose election would have been a first in the EU. Freedom Party campaign manager, Herbert Kickl lauded Hofer’s performance in the polls and said that the party was strongly placed for parliamentary elections.
Regarding the nearly 50-50 split in the election, Van der Bellen noted that “each half is just as important as the other” and that “together we create this wonderful Austria”.
“Relief to see the Austrians reject populism and extremism”, Valls tweeted about the result. “The effort in this election campaign is not wasted”.
In an speech after the official results were given, Van der Bellen, who will take office on 1 July, said his election brought a “big responsibility” upon him.
The country’s two main parties lost in last month’s first round of voting, reflecting voter dissatisfaction with the European refugee crisis. Van der Bellen sought to smooth over the differences in post-result comments.
It is the latest far-right party to make ground in Europe and follows the growing support for Marine Le Pen’s Front National in France, the Danish People’s Party and the Swiss People’s Party. The Social Democrats (SPO) lead a coalition government with their conservative counterpart, the People’s Party (OVP).
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The institute’s election-day polling showed 81 percent of voters with a university degree had backed van der Bellen and 86 percent of workers voted for Hofer.
