Austrian Presidential Election: Far-Right Party Loses To Independent Candidate

The Austrian presidential race was a heated and close one. However, in a Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) post published Monday, far-right leader Norbert Hofer recognized his defeat against independent candidate Alexander van der Bellen, who imposed himself in Sunday’s poll, with just 50.3 percent of the vote. The Freedom Party — of a clear right wing, anti-immigration stance — got 49.7 percent of the votes.

Talking about the narrow difference, van der Bellen said, “This is a symbol. We were talking a lot about dividing lines — left and right, city and countryside, young and old — but we can see it this way: We are equal. There are two halves that make up Austria, and both are equally important.”

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While the president’s functions in Austria are mostly ceremonial, the race was a heated one. In fact, many have pointed out substantial similarities with the ongoing presidential campaign in the U.S. – and some have even called Hofer “the Austrian Trump.”

Moderates and left wing voters around Europe expressed their relief in social media on Monday, as they discarded the possibility of a far-right president in the continent — something unheard of since the second world war. Also unseen since World War II was an Austrian president who did not belong to one of the two main parties in the country, the Social Democrats or the conservative People’s Party.

However, Austria's general election is still ahead, and the Freedom Party promises to put up a good fight. “The effort in this election campaign is not wasted. It is an investment for the future,” Hofer’s Facebook status assured.

Below is a BBC graph that illustrates the rise of nationalism in Europe, a trend that is worrying more than a few.

Source: BBC

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.