Austria: far-right Norbert Hofer leads after first round of presidential election

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: Euronews

Far-right FPO candidate Norbert Hofer is in the lead following the first round of Austria’s presidential election.

Hofer campaigned on an anti-immigration, anti-Europe platform.

First projections suggest he won more than 36 percent of the vote, public broadcaster ORF reports.

However, as none of the candidates appear to have reached the majority of more than 50 percent needed, he faces a run-off against Green Party veteran Alexander van der Brellen or Irmgard Griss, a former Supreme Court judge.


Read more: http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/24/far-right-fpo-candidate-norbert-hofer-leads-in-austrian-presidential-election/

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Austria's anti-immigration far-right triumphed on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election, with candidates from the two governing parties failing to even make it into a May 22 runoff.

Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) won 36.7 of the vote, followed by Alexander van der Bellen backed by the Greens on 19.7 percent and independent candidate Irmgard Griss on 18.8 percent, projections showed.

From the governing coalition, Rudolf Hundstorfer from the Social Democrats (SPÖ) came joint fourth with just 11.2 percent, level with Andreas Khol from the People's Party (ÖVP).

The result, if confirmed, means that for the first time since 1945, Austria will not have a president backed by either the SPÖ or ÖVP.

http://www.thelocal.at/20160424/runoff-likely-in-austrian-presidential-poll

[Roy Rolling]

1. Sounds like...

...the "Make Austria Great" movement is gaining traction.

[840high]

7. yes it is. Not just Austria.

[Yupster]

9. I went to college in Austria in 1980

I went back four years ago and the difference was stark. Women in full burkhas where I don't ever remember seeing anyone in Muslim garb 30 years ago.

Don't know what the percentage is, but the demographics of the country had changed dramatically and I imagine lots of Austrians are unhappy about it.

[MowCowWhoHow III]

2. Far-right set to make gains as EU hopeful Serbia votes

Far-right set to make gains as EU hopeful Serbia votes

Belgrade (AFP) - Serbians voted Sunday in a general election that was likely to return pro-European Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to power but also give a voice in parliament to the pro-Russian far-right.

While Vucic's Progressive Party is projected to win about half of the votes, ultra-nationalists who want the Balkan country to deepen its alliance with Russia, instead of Europe, are also expected to make a comeback.

After failing to win seats in the past two elections, the hardline Radical party is polling in third place, meaning its virulently anti-Western leader Vojislav Seselj could become the leading opposition figure in parliament.

Seselj, 61, was recently acquitted of war crimes arising from the 1990s Balkan wars, in a shock ruling from UN judges at The Hague.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/serbia-pm-calls-voters-choose-european-future-035641839.html?ref=gs

[bigworld]

3. He's still to the left of Cruz or the mainstream US Republican Party!

[pampango]

4. "anti-immigration, anti-EU" about sums up the European far-right.

Our own far-right shares their anti-immigration stance. And aren't much into international cooperation either.

[Quantess]

5. Expect similar election trends in all of Europe.

Anti-immigration, anti EU

[LeftishBrit]

6. Ugh. Just ugh.

[Angel Martin]

8. the polling was also wrong

the polling had Hofer at less than 25 percent, and the Green candidate ahead of him.

[EL34x4]

11. I suspect citizens are nervous about telling pollsters

that they intend to vote for the far-right candidate. I wonder if polling accounts for this?

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. Pollsters can try to account for it, but it's hard to spot before it happens

We had the 'Shy Tory factor' in the UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shy_Tory_Factor

It's very hard to be objective about it, apart from when you've got an opinion poll and an actual election to compare side by side. I might think "who would want to admit they'd vote for Trump?", but clearly some people will admit it, and you can't measure the rate at which people start to think "well, if other people are voting for him, it's OK for me to say that openly".

[EL34x4]

10. An entirely predictable outcome.

Expect similar far-right gains across Europe.

[whatthehey]

13. Which is what happens when moderate parties are afraid to offend fundy theocrats

by telling them it's wong to rape or molest and that the whole country is not beholden to their regressive medieval nonsense just because they want it to be.

[romanic]

15. Yep.

I predict a massive deportation effort in the next few years in Europe.

[MowCowWhoHow III]

14. Austria adopts tough new asylum laws amid far-right surge

Austria adopts tough new asylum laws amid far-right surge

Vienna (AFP) - The Austrian parliament on Wednesday adopted one of Europe's toughest asylum laws, as the country's political leaders struggle to halt the surging far-right which is leading in presidential polls.

The hotly-disputed bill, which passed by 98 votes to 67, allows the government to declare a "state of emergency" if migrant numbers suddenly rise and reject most asylum seekers directly at the border, including those from war-torn countries like Syria.

Opposition parties and rights groups have slammed the legislation, with the UN's refugee agency warning that it "removes a centrepiece of refugee protection".

But Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka insisted Austria had no other choice as long as "so many other European Union members fail to do their part" to stop the influx.

"We cannot shoulder the whole world's burden," he said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/austria-considers-rejecting-most-migrants-amid-far-surge-003357542.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw

[dlwickham]

16. the president in Austria doesn't have much power if any