On December 4th, Austria held a rerun of its
presidential election, after an earlier election in
May had been annulled by the constitutional
court after it had found evidence of postal voting
irregularities. The May vote saw independent
and pro-EU candidate Alexander Van der Bellen
claim a narrow victory (just over 30,000 votes)
over far-right and Eurosceptic candidate Norbert
Hofer of the Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei
Österreichs). As the first projections of the rerun
results came in, however, far-right candidate
Norbert Hofer had to admit defeat as Van der
Bellen’s share increased from 50.35% to 53.3% of
the vote (final confirmation pending).
Although Austria’s presidency is mainly a
ceremonial position, the election was given a high
profile inside and outside the country, influenced
by the reverberations of Brexit and the election of
Donald Trump as President of the United States.
This was acknowledged by the candidates
themselves who represented an electorate deeply
divided over the role of Austria in the EU.
The candidates’ platforms
A former leader of the Green party, Van der
Bellen described himself as an open-minded,
liberal and pro-EU candidate, who even is in
favour of a federal “United States of Europe”.
Hofer, on the other hand, ran on a nationalist
platform indicating support for an EU membership
referendum early in his campaign. Later, however,
Hofer softened his position on the EU, saying he
preferred to stay in a reformed decentralised
union. He expressed sympathy with Vladimir Putin
and claimed that Germany’s decision to open its
borders to refugees was “a major mistake that has
inflicted massive costs on the entire EU, as well as
Austria and taxpayers”.
European argument a decisive factor
Austria’s stance towards the European Union is
likely to have been a deciding factor in the
election. In fact, the United Kingdom’s decision to
leave the EU – the UK referendum had been held
a month after Austria's May election – may have
played a role in shifting votes to Van der Bellen.
According to a poll by Austrian state broadcaster
ORF, 65% of respondents supported Van der
Bellen because of his pro-EU stance. Indeed, Van
der Bellen himself expressed: "It was not a rerun
but a new election," implying that voters were
influenced by the changing political landscape
over the last six months. He added: "The world
around us has changed. We had the Brexit
referendum in Britain and the election of Donald
Trump in America".
Taking a look at this from the Freedom Party’s
perspective, there have been suggestion that
party leader Heinz-Christian Strache, considered
to be the more aggressive of the two leading
party figures, might have negatively impacted the
election for Hofer by campaigning in a too
polarising way. The underlying debate indicates
that while voters might not be inclined to support
an aggressively polarising candidate, they may
well see more ‘moderate’ populists as suitable
candidates.
Edelman | Southside | 105 Victoria Street | SW1E 6QT London | www.edelman.co.uk | 0203 047 2000 | @edelmanUK
Reactions from Europe
Given the international context of rising populist
movements, an otherwise less prominent Austrian
presidential election turned into a proxy
diplomatic battlefield for European leaders in
both pro and anti-EU camps. Germany's Social
Democrat Vice-Chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, called
the result "a clear victory for reason against rightwing populism". German Foreign Minister FrankWalter Steinmeier said in a Twitter post that the
"whole of Europe has heaved a sigh of relief" at
the outcome. European Parliament President
Martin Schulz tweeted that Van der Bellen's
victory was "a heavy defeat of nationalism and
anti-European, backward-looking populism."
French President Francois Hollande also
congratulated Van der Bellen in a statement,
saying "the Austrian people have chosen Europe,
and they have chosen to be open.“
On the other hand, French far right politician
Marine Le Pen congratulated Hofer's Freedom
Party for fighting "with courage”, adding that "the
next legislative elections will be their victory". The
former Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, intervened in
Hofer’s campaign last week by declaring on Fox
News, that Hofer would hold a referendum on
Austria leaving the European Union in case of a
victory. This intervention, however, was perceived
by the Freedom Party as detrimental to their
cause.
The Austrian presidential election is another
indicator showing that the European population is
increasingly divided on European integration,
namely between those who are pushing for a
deepening of the integration process, and those
who are calling for a return to national
governance. The majority of the populist
movements promoting the latter and rising
against the establishment can be located at the
extreme left and right ends of the political
spectrum. This divide seems to be gaining primacy
within as well as between countries across
Europe, part of a global wave of anti-globalisation
trends coming from different corners of the world
and in different ideological flavours.
Edelman | Southside | 105 Victoria Street | SW1E 6QT London | www.edelman.co.uk | 0203 047 2000 | @edelmanUK