Norbert Hofer: is Austria's presidential hopeful a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'?

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Source: The Guardian

Norbert Hofer: is Austria's presidential hopeful a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'?

Rightwing candidate has presented himself as centrist but some
commentators warn his charm masks extreme right background

Philip Oltermann in Vienna
Thursday 19 May 2016 13.33 BST

The man who could on Sunday become Austria’s first rightwing populist president likes to present himself as a centrist. The Austrian Freedom party (FPÖ), Norbert Hofer argued in a recent interview, was far from rightwing but “to the left of the US Democrats”. Austria, he said, was “blessed” not to have an extremist party like Greece’s Golden Dawn.

Last month, Hofer’s pitch as a consensus-building reformer of Austria’s static political system helped him defy the polls and gain a 35% victory in the first round of the presidential elections, leaving the candidates of the centre-left Social Democratic party (SPÖ) and centre-right People’s party (ÖVP), who have shared the post between themselves since 1945, floundering in his wake.

Now, after the resignation of the chancellor Werner Faymann, Hofer’s rhetorically dexterous performances in TV debates with his rival, Alexander Van der Bellen, and a period in which neither of the two centrist parties could bring themselves to fully rally behind his sole remaining opponent, many in Austria think it is possible that the “friendly face of the FPÖ” (Der Kurier) with the “doe eyes” (Der Spiegel) will soon represent their country on the national stage.

But a number of commentators warn that Hofer’s persuasive oratory and natural charm have allowed him to successfully cover up an ideological background that places him on the extreme right of the political spectrum.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/19/norbert-hofer-austria-presidential-hopeful-rightwing

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1. Austrian election could produce EU's first far-right head of state

Austria could elect the European Union's first far-right head of state on Sunday, with support for Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer buoyed by a migration crisis that has heightened fears about employment and security.

Opinion polls suggest the presidential run-off between Hofer and former Greens leader Alexander van der Bellen will be close. A far-right victory would resonate across the 28-member EU, where migration driven by conflict and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere has become a major political issue.

Support for groups like the eurosceptic, anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) has been rising in various countries, whether they have taken in many migrants in the recent influx, like Germany and Sweden, or not, like France and Britain.

Most are still far from achieving majority support. The FPO has been in government before, serving as a coalition partner in the early 2000s when it was led by the late Joerg Haider.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-election-idUSKCN0YC0RG

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2. Austria deadlocked as leftist and far-right presidential candidates await absentee votes

Austria was split in half Sunday in a cliffhanger presidential election in which far-right candidate Norbert Hofer held a narrow lead over his left-wing challenger in a vote that will not be decided until nearly 1 million absentee ballots are counted Monday.

Hofer is a leader in the Freedom Party, which was founded by former Nazis in 1956, and is attempting to become the first far-right head of state in western Europe since World War II. He benefited from a backlash against immigrants and widespread frustration with Austria’s mainstream parties.

With nearly 5 million votes counted Sunday, he led by a scant 144,000. Analysts compared Hofer’s “Austria first” platform to the campaign run by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Hofer is opposed to Muslims, refugees and trans-Atlantic trade agreements that he says are eliminating jobs in Austria, where unemployment has doubled to 10% in the last three years.

http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-austria-election-20160522-snap-story.html