Chancellor's fall highlights Austria's far-right challenge

Few doubted that Werner Faymann would have to relinquish his almost-eight-year grip on Austrian politics as chancellor and head of the ruling Social Democrat (SPO) party following the poor performance of the SPO candidate in the first round of the presidential vote last month.

The 11 percent obtained by the SPO candidate was just the latest in a string of disappointing election results for the party stretching back several years.