sotos8 Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Norbert Hofer of the Freedom party takes 36.7% of the vote as candidates from the two governing parties fail to make runoff 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. 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. 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). The result means that, for the first time since 1945, Austria will not have a president backed by either the SPOe or OeVP. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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%. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Well you cant blame them for the reaction, the countries are shocked by the mass immigration of the last year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genevieve Vavance Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 I can see why he won, I didn't even bother this time, all of them were so shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ares1987 Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Populism like in many countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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