- In Austria, around 6.4 million citizens were called to vote for the Federal President today.
- According to the preliminary official results, Alexander Van der Bellen remains the head of state of Austria.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the 78-year-old achieved 54.6 percent of the votes in the presidential election on Sunday and is thus at the top of the country for another six years. The right-wing FPÖ candidate, Walter Rosenkranz, followed in second place with 19.1 percent.
Legend:
Van der Bellen is celebrated by former Federal President Heinz Fischer.
Keystone/ HANS KLAUS TECHT
The official count does not yet take into account the expected more than 800,000 postal votes. However, according to projections by the ORF, no decisive change is to be expected here.
Taking into account all the votes, the pollsters expect around 56 percent for the incumbent and around 18 percent for the second-placed rosary. Postal votes will be counted on Monday. Voter turnout was estimated at 65 percent.
Broad support for Van der Bellen
President Ignazio Cassis has already congratulated Van der Bellen on his election victory. On Twitter he praises the good relations with neighboring Austria during the Austrian Federal President’s term of office so far.
The former leader of the Greens, Van der Bellen, was supported by all parliamentary parties except the right-wing FPÖ, by the social partners and by many NGOs. Six candidates compete against him. The most prominent of them is the 60-year-old Walter Rosenkranz from the right-wing FPÖ.
The FPÖ candidate Rosenkranz stood for a complete change of direction. For example, the FPÖ rejects EU sanctions against Russia. The 60-year-old has threatened to dismiss the government if necessary. This right belongs to the Federal President, but it is actually difficult
Legend:
According to initial projections, right-wing challenger Walter Rosenkranz (on the right in the picture) only managed to get 18.4 percent of the votes.
REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
The conservative ÖVP and the social democratic SPÖ had refrained from nominating their own candidate. The reason was the fact that an election campaign against an incumbent is considered hopeless – and the parties preferred to save the money for it. The media criticized the fact that there were no women in the field of applicants.
With his election victory, Van der Bellen has been re-elected for a further six-year term. “The Austrians recognize the achievements of the previous president,” says SRF foreign editor Franco Battel.
Refused election campaign
In the last 6 years in office, Van der Bellen had to intervene in political events again and again. For example in 2019 when he appointed a government of experts after the corruption scandals surrounding the then Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache. Even during the pandemic and now in the Ukraine war, the Federal President has repeatedly taken a pointed position.
The electorate has now honored this leadership in difficult times with a clear majority. And this despite the fact that there was also criticism: the 78-year-old head of state had steadfastly refused to conduct a TV debate with his 6 challengers during the election campaign. That was arrogant and despondent, said his opponents. Van der Bellen, however, said that after 6 years in office one no longer had to get to know him and that such a dispute was hardly compatible with the dignity of his office.