Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Pro-Green Independent Beats Far Right for Austrian Presidency

The Federal Presidency of Austria is largely a ceremonial post. In theory, he or she appoints the Chancellor and cabinet ministers, Supreme Court judges and military officers. The president can dissolve the National Council (the lower house of the legislature). In practice, the president acts much as the British monarch, reigning rather than ruling. Still, the office symbolizes the Austrian nation, and so it is with great relief that one can report Alexander Van Der Bellen, an environmental activist, has defeated the Freedom Party's Norbert Hofer, a proto-fascist. One is less happy to report that the race was so close that it required the counting of postal ballots to determine the victor.

In the first round of voting, Herr Hofer topped the polls with just under 1.5 million votes, about 35% of the total cast. President Van Der Bellen (an independent candidate backed by the Greens) was second at 913,000 votes or 21.3%. Another independent candidate, Irmgard Griss gathered 810,000 votes, roughly 18.9%. The Social Democratic Party's Rudolf Hundstorfer won just 482,000 votes, or 11.3%. The Austrian People's Party secured 475,000 votes, or 11.1%, with Andreas Kohl as its candidate. Rounding out the field was another independent, Richard Lugner, with 97,000 votes, or 2.3%.

The result was a disaster for the Social Democrats and the People's Party, which have ruled Austria either singly or in coalition since the end of World War II. Combined, they barely topped the ultimate winner's first round tally. With turnout at 68.5%, they cannot even excuse their defeat with a low-turnout argument. Some serious soul searching is needed.

In the second round, Mr. Hofer was ahead when all of the votes save the postal ballots were counted Sunday. The BBC reported that Mr. Hofer had 51.9% of the vote when the tellers started on the postal ballots compared to Mr. Van Der Bellen's 48.1%, a margin of 144,006 votes. Postal ballots amounted to about 750,000, 12% of the electorate.

When the last postal ballot had been counted, Mr. Van Der Bellen had reversed the standings with 2,254,484 votes (50.3%) to Mr. Hofer's 2,223,458 (49.7%). Austria had snatched national self-respect from the jaws of shame.

Mr. Van Der Bellen is making all the right noises in victory. He said: "We need a different culture of dialogue and a political system which deals with people's fears and anger." He would "work towards winning the trust of Norbert Hofer's voters" and try to be "a non-partisan president for all the people in Austria." He added, "There's been a lot of talk about this country's rifts. But I think you can also interpret the split as a sign that we are two sides of the same coin and each side is as important as the other."

Mr. Hofer is putting a brave face on things, knowing that the narrowness of this defeat positions his party well for the next parliamentary elections in 2018. Despite calling it a "sad day," he said on Facebook (and in German) "Please don't be disheartened. The effort in this election campaign is not wasted, but is an investment for the future." Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache said, "This is just the beginning."

That is precisely what this journal fears. With the traditional parties shattered or shattering (not just in Austria but across Europe and in the US), the emergence of unpleasant political organizations of the right and the left are inevitable. However, if they don't garner more than a couple of percentage points, they don't matter much. The Freedom Party in Austria would win parliamentary elections if they were held now. Xenophobia, the hallmark of all the rightist parties now on the rise, has never been a long-term success for any society. But it's incredibly appealing to those who should know better. Austria proved, just barely, that it does know better -- for now.

© Copyright 2016 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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