In 2016, right-wing populist and far right parties seemed unstoppable, and after Brexit and the US elections everyone was watching Austria, estimating that the country would be the next domino to fall. However, voters rejected the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic Freedom Party, and instead elected Alexander Van der Bellen a former Green Party Leader.
In the presidential election, Norbert Hofer won the first round of votes with 35.1% compared to Van der Bellen’s 21.3%. In the second round he lost to him, but the result was annulled by Austria’s highest court due to voting irregularities. In the re-run, the Green Party repeated their victory with 53.8% of the vote while Hofer gained 46.2%.
Freedom Party now holds 38 of the 183 seats in the National Council. The nationalist, anti-globalisation group promised a referendum on the country’s membership of the European Union and a crackdown on immigration.
Despite the defeat, they remain a formidable force in Austrian politics, currently polling at 30% compared to the opposition’s 28% ahead of the next Austrian legislative elections in 2018.
