ecbinvienna

It’s even worse than I feared–Hofer (FPÖ) is way ahead. The next two candidates after him each have only slightly more than half as many votes as he does. At least there is another election to come.

Austrians go to the polls today to vote, in a direct process, for their president for the next six years. Thank goodness the president doesn’t have much power, although, unfortunately, he or she does have a strong representative role outside the country, because in the last few days there are signs that the candidate from the FPÖ (the extreme right-wing nationalist party) has pulled ahead. The other frontrunner (the former head of the Green Party) still has a chance though.  With six candidates for the job and a requirement that the winner have an absolute majority, it seems likely that Austrians will be going back to the polls in May. Stay tuned …