Austria presidential election: Far-right's Hofer defeated

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

Far-right candidate Norbert Hofer has lost Austria's presidential election.

His campaign manager said he had conceded victory to independent candidate, Alexander Van der Bellen.

The Austrian presidency is largely ceremonial but the vote had been seen as a sign of how well populist candidates might do in upcoming elections in the European Union.
...
Former Green Party head Mr Van der Bellen had a clear lead, according to projections.


Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38202669

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That was quick - just half an hour after polls closed (at 5pm local time).

[moondust]

1. Whew.

Dodged one bullet, more to come.

Thank you, Austria!

[TubbersUK]

2. Great :)

[Wounded Bear]

3. I'm really starting to hate the term "populist"...

it seems to me that the term has no relation to what a majority of citizens in a country really want, but only seems to follow the opinions of the loudest and most unscrupulous minority of voters, usually led by some rich asshole who has no clue about what the "common citizen" really wants or needs. And not just no clue, but an active desire to self-aggrandize at the expense of the very folks who support the "populist" candidate.

Populism has become a route to fascism, if history is any judge. Mussolini was a populist, as was Hitler. So forgive me, my inclination is to fight "populism" as it has been manifest since the early- to mid-20th Century. Real democracy requires intelligent, well informed citizens, populism seems to need citizzens to be willfully ignorant to succeed.

Count me out.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. The Proper Term Should Be "Populist Nationalism"

It's way more about nationalism than the people as a whole, but it gets popularity by targeting the basest of emotions and opinions.

OK, so it is populist, but the term nationalism should be hung on it too.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Excellent news!

Breathing great 'phew!'s of relief. My friend has been down with the flu, but said she immediately started to feel better when she heard this news!

And yes, the word 'populist' is being used as a euphemism for 'neo-fascist'. In this election, neither candidate came from a traditional mainstream party; but it's the hard-right one who gets called 'populist'. Fortunately, he turned out not to be populAR.

[agalisgv]

5. This is the best news I've heard all day

[Dawson Leery]

6. FUCK "populism". Populism is an excuse to scapegoat

minorities.

[suffragette]

7. This re-vote is a strong rejection of the rightward trend seen in Brexit and Trump votes.

While it was close in their first election, it is not close now.
Good on Austria.

[Dawson Leery]

9. The Cons lost a seat in Richmond Park to the Lib Dems last week.

[suffragette]

12. Tactical voting?

[JudyM]

10. And especially being Austria, this is a big "whew!"

Good to see the sweep isn't becoming ubiquitous.

[suffragette]

11. Yes, Giant Steps to reject the far right trend (Sorry, couldn't resist the Coltrane reference)

especially significant given it's Austria.

The Guardian has a live thread up that combines reporting on this and on the Italian referendum:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/dec/04/italian-referendum-and-austrian-presidential-election-live

[JudyM]

13. Notable quote from that link -

Werner Kogler, a delegate for the Green Party, described the result as a “small global turning of the tide in these uncertain, not to say hysterical and even stupid times”

(Great Coltrane toot-out)

[suffragette]

14. I hope it is a "turning of the tide." I re-watched Black Mirror's "The Waldo Moment" last night

and what was once an ok episode now seems an eerie foreshadowing of Brexit and Trump.

Time to listen to some Coltrane to smooth out.

[JudyM]

17. That show looks good, yeah, eerie; the planet/reality seems to be shifting. Never thought we'd be

so happy about Austria, leading the way (hopefully).

Here's some smooth for your Sunday...
https://m.

[suffragette]

18. Ahh, silky smooth. Perfect soundtrack for a Sunday. Yes, Black Mirror is very good, a Twilight

Zone for these times.

[kebob]

8. If Austria Can Do It...

never mind.

[TomVilmer]

15. Winner did not win most states

In USA Trump got the most of the the popular vote in the most states, but won only by Electoral College. In Austria they win by the total popular vote, so the nice green guy who lost by popular vote in five out of nine states, won anyway by total count. In the first round he had lost even worse by only winning in the capitol, but got in total a few percent more than the independent candidate. Only the two in top continues to the second round, so our green guy went up against the far-right candidate - and now he is president The real political leader is the chancellor, who is not elected. The chancellor is appointed by the National Council, which is elected quite proportionally, reflecting the popular vote. Isn't democracy fun!

[pbmus]

16. Fantastic...

[Little Tich]

19. Good. n/t

[Fritz Walter]

20. Some supporters refer to him as Austria's Obama

How can I get one of these t-shirts?
Or indeed seven, one for each day of the week!