Austria voted to elect its president, and outgoing environmental expert Van der Bellen is the favorite

Austria voted to elect its president, and outgoing environmental expert Van der Bellen is the favorite

Austrians on Sunday began voting for a presidential election expected to reappoint outgoing green president Alexander van der Bellen, seen as a symbol of stability as the European Union member nation grapples with an energy crisis and inflation.

Supported by a wide range of the political class, he received more than 50% of the vote in opinion polls and appeared to win the first round against six opponents, all men.

“The Couch Will Be Your Biggest Contender On Sunday”On Friday, the 78-year-old head of state mocked the end of the campaign in front of his supporters. If you care about liberal democracy, go vote. »

The retreat of the far right

The far-right FPÖ party, which nearly won against him in 2016, wants to play the match again. But its candidate is little known: Walter Rosenkranz, 60, will receive only 15% of the vote, versus recent elections in Sweden and Italy.

Corruption cases fell to the far right in Austria, which was the first in Europe to come close to winning a presidential election six years ago. The FPÖ party was founded by ex-Nazis tilted with over 46% of the vote, after polling with twists and turns.

If the party subsequently entered the government by forming a coalition with the young conservative Sebastian Kurz, it was forced to leave power in 2019 after an incredible scandal and has not since regained its former glory.

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Voting ends at 5 pm.

In the face of these disturbances and the succession of chancellors, Alexander van der Bellen, with the traditional function of ensuring protocol, ensured the continuity of the state. This pro-European passes too “built-in” According to Julia Barthemüller, of the University of Vienna, she “Great appreciation” Compared with “Multiple crises facing many European countries”.

Photo (in 2016): This article is reserved for our subscribers Van der Bellen, a ‘little refugee’ who became a bulwark against the far right in Austria

In the Alpine nation of 9 million, 6.4 million voters – including Austrian-American Arnold Schwarzenegger, a staunch supporter of the president – were invited to vote for a six-year term. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 5 p.m., when polling is expected on polling day.

The world with AFP

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