Saturday

23rd Sep 2023

EU 'relief' at far-right defeat in Austria

  • Alexander Van der Bellen will have "to mend fences" in a divided country (Photo: Amélie Chapalain)

[UPDATED on 23 May at 18.35] After 24 hours of suspense, Green candidate Alexander Van der Bellen was officially elected president of Austria on Monday (23 May), with 50.3 percent of votes.

He beat the far-right candidate Norbert Hofer, who was the favourite and whose election would have been a first in the EU.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The final result was announced by the interior minister after all postal votes were counted. Van der Bellen was declared the winner with 31,026 votes more than his opponent, out of 4.6 million votes cast.

On Sunday, votes from polling stations resulted in a 144,006-vote lead for Hofer which was too narrow to declare a winner.

Van der Bellen's election was greeted with relief in the EU.

"There is a sigh of relief in Europe," Italian foreign affairs minister Paolo Gentiloni said in Brussels, where he attended a ministers meeting.

French prime minister Manuel Valls, during a visit to Israel also expressed his "relief to see Austrians reject extremism and populism".

"Every one must draw the lessons," he added.

"It is important that a president who represents a pro-European attitude is elected," said EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn, who is Austrian.

"No country can cope alone with the enormous cross-border challenges we face today," he said in a statement.

EU finance commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that the vote showed that "populism looms, the majority of citizens reject it, pro-Europeans must go on the offensive".

Manfred Weber, the leader of the center-right EPP group in the European Parliament, said on Twitter that the result was "a good outcome for Austria and for Europe" and that he was "pleased" that Austria chose "constructive cooperation in Europe".

Van der Bellen, a 72-year old economy academic and former chairman of the Green party, was the election's underdog.

He created a first surprise on 24 April when he came out second of the first round of the presidential election, ahead of the candidates from the two main parties, the Social-Democratic Party and the Christian-Democratic Party.



With 21.3 percent, he was however far behind Hofer, the candidate of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), who got 35.1 percent.

But he rallied behind him urban, educated and female voters to block Hofer from the president's office, according to different exit polls.

'We are equal'

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.

He said Austria should "learn the lessons of recent months" implicitly referring to the debates on immigration and the weakening of the current coalition between social-democrats and christian-democrats.

Austria "needs another culture of dialogue, politicians that are not so concerned with themselves but with the real concerns and the anger of many people in this country," he said.

He dismissed talks of "dividing lines, left and right, city and countryside, upper and lower, old and young".

"We are equal. There are two halves that makes Austria, both are equally important," he said.

Speaking earlier, the outgoing president Hans Fischer said Van der Bellen would have to be the head of state for all Austrians and that he would have to "mend fences" in a country divided in two after the vote.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the defeated Hofer said he was "obviously sad".

He asked his supporters not to be "disheartened" and said their commitment in the election campaign was "not lost but an investment for the future".

Analysis

Austria prepares for historic swerve to the right

A victory of the far-right candidate Norbert Hofer at Sunday's presidential election would open the way to a tandem with a far-richt chancellor in a near future, with unforessen consequences for the country's democracy.

Analysis

Tough challenges ahead for Austria's president

Alexander Van der Bellen, who won by just 31,000 ballots, will not have an easy task reconciling a divided country wih a far-righ that remains on the rise.

Austrian candidates both seek Trump effect

Donald Trump's victory is enlivening Austria's presidential campaign - one side seizing on it as a sign that the masses are rising up, the other depicting it as a stark warning of the dangers of demagoguery.

Agenda

Spain's EU-language bid and UN summit This WEEK

While the heads of EU institutions are in New York for the UN high level meeting, Spain's EU presidency will try to convince ministers to make Catalan, Basque, and Galician official EU languages.

Latest News

  1. Europe's energy strategy: A tale of competing priorities
  2. Why Greek state workers are protesting new labour law
  3. Gloves off, as Polish ruling party fights for power
  4. Here's the headline of every op-ed imploring something to stop
  5. Report: Tax richest 0.5%, raise €213bn for EU coffers
  6. EU aid for Africa risks violating spending rules, Oxfam says
  7. Activists push €40bn fossil subsidies into Dutch-election spotlight
  8. Europe must Trump-proof its Ukraine arms supplies

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us