Austria far-right 'narrowly loses poll, electing Van der Bellen president'

[Judi Lynn]

8. Left-leaning candidate wins Austria presidency in tight race

Left-leaning candidate wins Austria presidency in tight race

George Jahn, Associated Press

Updated 6:50 pm, Monday, May 23, 2016

VIENNA (AP) — A pro-European Union candidate eked out a victory Monday over a right-wing, anti-migrant rival to become Austria's next president, in a tight contest viewed Europe-wide as a proxy fight pitting the continent's political center against its growingly strong populist and anti-establishment movements.

European mainstream parties joined Austrian supporters of Alexander Van der Bellen in congratulating him on his victory over Norbert Hofer, with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier declaring. "All of Europe is now breathing more easily."

But with less than a percentage point separating the two, Hofer's Freedom Party and its allies across Europe also had reason to celebrate what they cast as a major political surge by one of their own.

Hofer had been narrowly ahead of Van der Bellen, a Greens politician running as an independent, after the counting of votes directly cast on Sunday. But around 700,000 absentee ballots still remained to be tallied Monday, and those numbers swung the victory to Van der Bellen.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Austria-Tight-presidential-election-reveals-a-7939373.php