Even in Defeat, Austria’s Far-right Emulates Populist Growth in Europe

Around 750,000 mail-in votes decided the fate of Austria’s presidential election this week, tipping the election in favor of a more centrist candidate. Yet the result does not change the course of a rising populist and nationalist movement within Austria and throughout the European continent.

The election was a near 50-50 split, with independent Green Party candidate Alexander Van der Bellen edging out far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) candidate Norbert Hofer by 50.3 to 49.7 percent of the vote. Europeanists gave a sigh of relief for the liberal economics professor’s win. Yet those who voted for Hofer – and their European counterparts who support the far-right – remain dissatisfied with the status quo and continue to grow in strength.

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