Austria's far right claim presidential election was RIGGED after their gun-toting anti-immigration candidate is narrowly beaten on postal votes
- Initial results showed the presidential election run-off was neck and neck
- Independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen has 'emerged as winner'
- Norbert Hofer, from the Freedom Party, is said to have conceded defeat
- But his party's supporters immediately said the result was a fix
- Hofer had 49.7 per cent of the vote to Van der Bellen's 50.3 per cent
Austria's
far right last night claimed the country’s presidential election was
rigged after their anti-immigration candidate was narrowly beaten in the
knife-edge poll.
Norbert
Hofer was on course to become Europe's first far-Right leader since the
Second World War and was ahead by a narrow margin as votes were counted
on Sunday night.
But
yesterday it was declared he had missed out by just 31,000 votes among
the 4.64million cast after a record 700,000 postal ballots were added
in.
Scroll down for video
Austria's Far-Right presidential
candidate Norbert Hofer (centre) has conceded defeat in his election bid
to become the EU's first anti-immigrant leader
Alexander Van
der Bellen waves after delivering a statement following the Austrian
presidential elections run-off, outside the Palais Schoenburg, in
Vienna,
Supporters
of the controversial Freedom Party candidate, who has ridden to
prominence on a wave of public anger over immigration, immediately
denounced the result as a fix.
Mr
Hofer, who won 49.7 per cent of the vote, lost out to Alexander Van der
Bellen, a pro-EU independent backed by the Greens, who secured a
paper-thin victory with 50.3 per cent support.
Despite Mr Hofer’s loss, the close result is a rude wake-up call for the continent’s established parties.
In
a message posted on Facebook, Mr Hofer expressed his disappointment but
described it as a step forward ahead of the country’s parliamentary
elections in 2018 that opinion polls regularly suggest his part could
win.
‘Of
course I am sad,’ the 45-year-old wrote to supporters, but added:
‘Please don't be disheartened. The effort in this election campaign is
not wasted, but is an investment for the future.
'I would have liked to take care of our wonderful country for you as president,' he added.
Concerns
over immigration have become a major issue in the country of just
8.6million people that received 90,000 asylum seekers last year and is
expecting a further 75,000 this year.
Mr
Hofer, who often carries a Glock pistol for 'protection', used his last
pre-election gathering to deliver a message with anti-Muslim overtones.
At his swearing-in as Freedom Party candidate, he wore a cornflower in his lapel, which was a Nazi symbol in the 1930s.
Supporters of presidential candidate Alexander Van der Bellen hugged as they awaited official confirmation of the results
The Austrian Interior Ministry said
this afternoon that Hofer received 49.7 per cent of the vote while Van
der Bellen received 50.3 per cent. Van der Bellen supporters are
pictured celebrating
Most
observers had thought that Mr Van der Bellen, 72, would fail to beat
his polished younger rival after lagging 14 points behind him in the
first round of voting on April 24.
‘But
in the last 14 days, there has been such a momentum among voters...
(across) all sections of society,’ Mr Van der Bellen said after polls
for the second round run-off closed on Sunday.
Mr
Hofer toned down his party’s election message to win voters across the
spectrum disillusioned with the mainstream parties in the current
government that have dominated national politics since 1945.
Coalition
partners, the Social Democrats and the centre-right People's Party
suffered a historic debacle in the first round when they were knocked
out with 11 percent each. The shock defeat prompted chancellor Werner
Faymann to quit.
The
vote in Austria has unsettled leaders elsewhere in Europe, particularly
in neighbouring Germany where the new anti-immigration Alternative for
Germany is on the rise.
French Prime Minister Manual Valls on Monday voiced 'relief' over the razor-thin victory.
Mr Van der Bellen, left, and Mr Hofer, right, were pictured shaking hands as the polls showed they were level
'Relief
to see the Austrians reject populism and extremism,' Valls tweeted
about the result from Sunday's cliff-hanger vote. 'Everyone in Europe
should learn from this.'
In France, the National Front of Marine Le Pen is leading in polls ahead of a presidential election next year.
In
the first round on April 24, the candidates of the Social Democrats
(SPOe) and their centre-right coalition partners People's Party (OeVP),
came a disastrous fourth and fifth with just 11 percent of the vote.
That
meant that for the first time since 1945, these parties, which have
long dominated politics in one of the EU's most stable democracies, had
to watch the second round from the sidelines.
This was also the final straw for Werner Faymann of the SPOe, who quit as chancellor on May 9.
His
successor, railways boss Christian Kern, was appointed last week, with
two years to win voters back from the arms of the far-right before the
next scheduled general election.
He said the work of his supporters during the election is 'not lost but an investment in the future'.
Mr Hofer, right, was slightly ahead of his rival in the polls but Van der Bellen has emerged as the winner
Greens Party politician Alexander Van der Bellen, front, second right, ran as an independent candidate
Experts
had suggested the postal votes could favour Mr Hofer today as they were
more likely to be cast by older people who are more Right-wing.
A
huge influx of asylum-seekers, rising unemployment and frozen reforms
has driven voters away from the two centrist parties that have dominated
Austrian politics since 1945.
AUSTRIA'S NEW PRESIDENT - A MAN WHO DREAMS OF A 'UNITED STATES OF EUROPE' WITHOUT BORDERS AND BOASTS OF BEING THE SON OF MIGRANTS
Fans
affectionally call him 'the professor' or 'Sascha', a diminutive of
Alexander in reference to his Russian roots, while his critics decry him
as a haughty 'green dictator'.
Instead
of healing Austria's political rift, Alexander Van der Bellen has
proved as divisive a figure in the country's nailbiting presidential
race as his far-right rival.
Despite
backing from the nation's most illustrous personalities including
Chancellor Christian Kern, the ex-Green party leader struggled to
convince many conservative voters, who accused him of pandering to the
left.
Instead of healing Austria's political
rift, Alexander Van der Bellen (pictured) has proved as divisive a
figure in the country's nailbiting presidential race as his far-right
rival
But he managed to beat the odds to pip Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party (FPOe) by a paper-thin margin of just 31,000 votes.
'He's
the lesser evil of the two,' was a commonly heard phrase at polling
stations in Vienna, and Van der Bellen even used this pitch to undecided
Austrians.
'I ask all those who don't like me but perhaps like Hofer even less to vote for me,' he had pleaded ahead of Sunday's runoff.
'Otherwise we run the risk of not recognising Austria if Norbert Hofer becomes president.'
At
72, the grey-haired economics professor often cut a somewhat
dishevelled and tired-looking figure next to the FPOe's gun-enthusiast
Hofer, 45, who walks with a cane after a paragliding accident.
But first impressions can be misleading.
Van
der Bellen's decade-long career as leader of the Greens Party until
2008 has turned him into an agile and at times aggressive opponent in
debates.
'I
don't want that Austria becomes the first country in western Europe led
by a populist right-wing, pan-Germanic fraternity member,' he told
voters.
He
also vowed to not swear in Strache as chancellor if the FPOe, currently
ahead in polls, wins the next general election scheduled for 2018.
The remark prompted Hofer to call him a 'fascist green dictator'.
Increasingly
sharp exchanges between the two men often degenerated into political
mud-slinging, highlighting their glaring differences over issues like
the migrant crisis.
Fans affectionally call him 'the
professor' or 'Sascha', a diminutive of Alexander in reference to his
Russian roots, while his critics decry him as a haughty 'green dictator'
Van der Bellen revealed he himself was a 'child of refugees who has received a lot from Austria'.
He was born on January 18, 1944 in Vienna to an aristocratic Russian father and an Estonian mother who had fled Stalinism.
The
arrival of the Red Army a year later forced the family to escape to the
southern state of Tyrol, where Van der Bellen spent an 'idyllic
childhood'.
He
studied economics at the University of Innsbruck and finished his PhD
in 1970 before going to to become dean of economics at the University of
Vienna two decades later.
Van der Bellen's professorial manner has become a familiar feature, often riling Hofer.
'I'm talking about Europe: E-U-R-O-P-E. Never heard of it?' Van der Bellen taunted his opponent during a TV duel.
'My God, the schoolmasterliness, Herr Doctor Van der Bellen,' an agitated Hofer shot back.
Adversaries
have also accused Van der Bellen of being a 'turncoat' because he was a
member of the Social Democrats before joining the Greens in the early
1990s and eventually becoming their president.
Under
his leadership, the party went on to achieve record results, but he
quit after the 2008 election when the Greens lost votes for the first
time in almost 10 years.
As Austrian president, he dreams of a fence-free 'United States of Europe', which defends the rights of minority groups.
An
outspoken supporter of gay marriage, the divorced and recently
remarried father-of-two garnered signatures from more than 4,000 public
figures in the course of his presidential campaign.
This
prompted a seemingly unimpressed Hofer to attack his rival for being
too highbrow: 'You have the glitterati, but I have the people,' he
snapped.
In his private life, Van der Bellen admits to two weaknesses: Donald Duck comics and cigarettes.
'I once quit for four months... but why should I torture myself at my age!', he said.
Presidential
candidates backed by the Social Democratic Party and People's Party
were eliminated in last month's round, marking the first time neither
were to be president since the end of the war.
His
popularity reflected deep disillusionment with the political status quo
and their approach to the migrant crisis and other issues.
Both men drew clear lines between themselves and their rival as they went into Sunday's race.
At his final rally Friday, Van der Bellen, pictured, said he was for 'an open, Europe-friendly, Europe-conscious Austria'
He added today that he was 'pro-European' but 'had doubts' whether Mr Hofer was of the same opinion
The pair, left and right, faced an agonising wait until today when the remaining postal votes were counted
At his final rally Friday, Van der Bellen said he was for 'an open, Europe-friendly, Europe-conscious Austria'.
Asked
as he arrived to vote today what differentiated him from Hofer, Van der
Bellen said: 'I think I'm pro-European and there are some doubts as far
as Mr Hofer is concerned.'
Hofer, in turn, used his last pre-election gathering to deliver a message with anti-Muslim overtones.
'To
those in Austria who go to war for the Islamic State or rape women - I
say to those people: 'This is not your home',' he told a cheering crowd.
THE GUN ENTHUSIAST SEEN AS THE 'GOLDEN BOY' OF AUSTRIA'S FAR-RIGHT
He has been described as the new golden boy of Austria's far fight.
Norbert
Hofer is a smooth-talking gun enthusiast who sent shock waves through
the political establishment by defying polls and shooting to the top of
the first round of a presidential ballot earlier this year.
Described
as the 'friendly face' of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), the
45-year-old caught everyone by surprise, not least the country's
centrist parties whose candidates failed to even make it into the
run-off over the weekend.
Many
voters disgruntled with the ruling coalition, made up of the Social
Democrats (SPOe) and conservative People's Party (OeVP), flocked to
Hofer and his promise of 'putting Austria first'.
Well-dressed
and soft-spoken, the self-proclaimed Margaret Thatcher fan pushed
traditional FPOe themes like anti-immigration with a smile, using more
moderate rhetoric than party leader Heinz-Christian Strache.
'Hofer
could set a new trend for the FPOe by being so unbelievably moderate in
his tone and coming across as so nice in public appearances... It fits
into the FPOe's strategy to target the middle ground of the electorate,'
political expert Thomas Hofer told AFP.
The father-of-four carries a Glock
pistol under his suits and likes to post pictures of himself on social
media at shooting ranges
Hofer's
polished campaign, based on the slogan 'Unspoilt, honest, good', proved
a hit with the masses, earning him a whopping 35 percent in the vote's
first round - the FPOe best-ever result at federal level since 1945.
The ex-deputy parliamentary speaker at first refused to join the race because he felt 'too young'.
The
FPOe's new star often walks with a cane after a paraglide accident -
something Hofer highlighted during his campaign as a sign of his sheer
determination and will.
'He always gives 100 percent. Already as a child, he wanted to do everything right,' his mother Gertraud told Austrian media.
The trained aeronautical engineer has had a slow but steady climb to the top of the FPOe leadership the past two decades.
Born
on March 2, 1970 into a middle-class family, Hofer grew up as the son
of a local OeVP councillor in Burgenland, the country's least prosperous
state close to the Hungarian border.
After
a short stint working for the now-defunct Lauda Air airline, Hofer
joined the FPOe's Burgenland branch in 1994 and became party secretary
two years later.
Moving
up through the ranks, he later became a close advisor to Strache who
took over the party reigns from the charismatic Joerg Haider in 2005.
Under the new leadership, the party initially grew more extremist and re-introduced racist slogans.
Norbert Hofer (pictured casting his
vote) has lost his bid to become the first Far Right candidate to be
elected head of state on the Continent since the defeat of the Nazis
When
this failed to translate into votes, Hofer, along with FPOe Secretary
General Herbert Kickl, advised Strache to adopt a more moderate course
and focus on social welfare and purchasing power, to steal support from
the traditional parties as the economic crisis hit.
The
move paid off, with the FPOe now consistently scoring more than 30 per
cent in polls ahead of the next scheduled general election in 2018.
But
despite his amiable appearance, Hofer is a true-blue member of the
far-right who has repeatedly reminded the electorate that he defended
'Freedom party interests'.
'Islam
has no place in Austria,' he warned voters, while also threatening to
fire the government if it failed to get tougher on migrants.
The
Oesterreich tabloid described him as 'a kind, nice protest politician
who wraps the FPOe's brutal declarations against refugees in soft
language'.
An
avid social media user, his Instagram account shows the father-of-four -
who has admitted to occasionally carrying a Glock gun in public - at a
shooting range with his children.
'I
just love to shoot,' he declared in a recent interview, adding that he
understood the rising trend of gun owners in Austria 'given the current
uncertainties'.
His
fans include Austrian extreme sports daredevil Felix Baumgartner who
hailed Hofer's young age, saying he 'was the only one able to represent
Austria appropriately'.
Gun
enthusiast Hofer, who was left partially disabled after a paragliding
accident, has denied that he posed a risk as president.
'I
am not a dangerous person,' he told reporters Sunday after voting in
his home town of Pinkafeld, in the eastern Burgenland state.
The
elections are reverberating beyond Austria's borders, with Hofer's
popularity viewed by European parties of all political stripes as
evidence of a further advance of populist Eurosceptic parties at the
expense of the establishment.
In
Austria, they would upend decades of business-as-usual politics, with
both men serving notice they are not satisfied with the ceremonial role
most predecessors have settled for.
Van
der Bellen says he would not swear in a Freedom Party chancellor even
if that party wins the next elections, scheduled within the next two
years.
Hofer
threatened to dismiss Austria's government coalition of the Social
Democrats and the People's Party if it failed to heed his repeated
admonitions to do a better job - and cast himself as the final arbiter
of how the government is performing.
Political
isolation for Austria may have been in the offing in the event of him
winning. Hofer is unlikely to have been welcomed in most European
capitals as governments there try to keep their populist Eurosceptic
parties in check.
It
would not have been been a first for Austria. President Kurt Waldheim,
who was backed by the centrist People's Party, was boycotted
internationally decades ago after revelations that he served in a German
unit linked to atrocities in the Second World War.
Ahead of the vote, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned 'there will be no debate or dialogue with the far-right'.
He is also known for wearing a
controversial blue cornflower on his suits (pictured). Adopted by his
Freedom Party, Nazis also used to wear it to recognize each other when
their party was banned in the 1930s
No single country in Europe has
elected a Far Right leader since the Second World War - a reminder of
Europe's bloody history at the hands of facism
Back
in 2000, more than 150,000 people marched in the Austrian capital
against the FPOe - then led by the late, SS-admiring Joerg Haider -
after it entered a much-maligned coalition with the centre-right.
This also led to international isolation and turned Austria into an EU pariah.
But times have changed, with eurosceptic and populist parties now posing a serious threat to traditional centrist governments.
In
Austria - the receiver of some 90,000 asylum requests last year - the
main parties have been haemorrhaging support to the FPOe, which
consistently scores more than 30 percent in opinion polls.
The
demise means the Social Democrats (SPOe) and centre-right People's
Party (OeVP) could fall short of being able to re-form their 'grand
coalition' at the next scheduled election in 2018.
In the last vote three years ago, they only just managed to secure a majority.
Although
former Green Party leader Van der Bellen enjoyed backing from many
public figures including new Chancellor Christian Kern, he has been a
divisive figure, with conservative Austrians accusing him of pandering
to the left.
'It's
a choice between pest and cholera. Whoever wins, I will wake up on
Monday to somebody whom I don't want to represent Austria,' said a
mother-of-two in her thirties, refusing to give her name, after she cast
her vote in Vienna.
7 comments:
America Wants A World Of Vassal States --- And Who Controls America.
America demands its choices run key world institutions - the Bank of International Settlements (the central bank for central banks), all other central banks, the IMF, World Bank and other financial institutions, the UN, the World Trade Organization, labor groups, the OECD, judicial bodies, academia, the clergy, everything everywhere.
http://www.rense.com/general96/Amvassal.html#sthash.KkcmMO5j.dpuf
1400 years of Inbreeding.
https://mainerepublicemailalert.com/2016/05/22/1400-years-of-inbreeding/
What China Knows about Africa That the West Doesn't
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-china-knows-about-africa-the-west-doesnt-16295
Erdogan Seizing AbsolutePower in Turkey With'Merkel’s Full Acquiescence'
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160522/1040049314/erdogan-turkey-merkel.html#ixzz49XOMF1wn
Propaganda techniques nudging UK to remain in Europe
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/344004-propaganda-techniques-uk-brexit/
1) The Solar Storm: Julie Lake – British Nationalism (5-22-16) - Julie Lake, regional director for the Southwest and Southeast of England for the British National Party.
http://www.renegadebroadcasting.com/shows/solar/Renegade-SolarStorm-2016-05-22.mp3
2) TRS - 23-05-2016 - Fash Britannia Episode 31: Interview with Jez Turner
https://trs.shadesmar.com/?name=FashBritanniaEpisode31InterviewwithJezTurner.mp3
Comments and critique awaited from Jack Sengupta.
Of course the election was "rigged". Do we really spend our days claiming the system is responsible for the X Y and Z of evil in our miserable world and then suspend that reality just because a "democratic" election has taken place?
No we don't...the election was rigged.
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