[bluebellnutter]

Britain Elects ‏@britainelects 2m2 minutes ago
#AUSTRIA:
Alexander Van der Bellen (Ind Green) has been elected President of Austria over Norbert Hofer (FPÖ).

The far right presidential candidate just got beaten. Good news.

[The Red Arrow]

Good news, but I can't see Hofer's fan club letting it rest there.

[youngian]

A green Vs a fascist. That must have been a lively cultural war. Half of the population must have been sick to the stomach waiting for that result to come through.

[The Weeping Angel]

Thank god for that.

[bluebellnutter]

BBC story now up

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36362505" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[youngian]

Mr Hofer, of the Freedom Party, had tapped into anti-EU sentiment and fears about rising numbers of asylum seekers.

Mr Van der Bellen came top in nine out of Austria's 10 main cities, while Mr Hofer dominated rural areas.

I'm not up with Austrian politics but can I assume this loudmouth was supported by the people least likely to have met an asylum seeker and enjoy Brussels CAP subsidies?

[Andy McDandy]

Rural Austria, it's got a certain reputation. There's a Bill Bryson book about his travels round Europe in the seventies as a student, in which he and some friends stop for the night in a small Austrian village and are lucky not to get lynched as a group of dirty hippies.

It comes across as Lincolnshire with mountains.

[Abernathy]

There's a bit of a precedent for little Austrian fascists, isn't there?

They must be glad to have body-swerved this one.

[bluebellnutter]

A narrow miss I think you'd call it

Britain Elects ‏@britainelects 31m31 minutes ago
#AUSTRIA, final result:
Alexander Van der Bellen: 2,254,484 (50.35%)
Norbert Hofer: 2,223,458 (49.65%)

Turnout: 72.7%

The whining about rigging and "Muslim rapist postal votes" is getting shrill

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[youngian]

I hope the new president does Austria proud by making a name for himself internationally. You need a break if Arnold Schwarzenegger is your most palatable politician with international recognition.

[mattomac]

It was the postal votes that did it.

[satnav]

I do think it is slightly ironic that a Green candidate gets elected courtesy of postal votes. Perhaps some Green voters thought it was more environmentally friendly to post their votes rather than driving miles to the nearest polling station.

[Arrowhead]

I honestly don't know which is more terrifying: the fact that the far-right candidate only lost by a very small margin, or the fact that almost one in four Austrians weren't even bothered enough to vote in such a pivotal election.

Also:

Labour4PR ‏@Labour4PR
If Austria used a FPTP electoral system they'd now have a far-right president elected by only 35% of voters....
10:03 PM - 23 May 2016

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I have a good friend, now over 90, who watched Hitler ride in triumph into Vienna in 1938. As a young Jew he soon left the country and made a life in England, in the army (Intelligence) and in teaching (where he taught me a great deal) and writing light opera.

He refused to go back to Austria for many years, on the grounds that they had acted badly towards him and his family (they mostly died) and Austrian Jews in the totality, and had never apologised or, more importantly, shown the sort of remorse that meant that they had come to a realisation of what they had done. Unlike most Germans.

I haven't spoken to him recently, I wonder what his feelings are now? What has happened to the progress that we thought we had made?

[Cyclist]

On the telly 4 or 5 years ago they were in Vienna talking to people in the street (I forget what about) and one young woman (late 20s/early 30s) said, perfectly matter-of-fact, "Whenever I see a Jew I feel physically sick"

Nice

I think some of this inability for many Austrians to see what cunts they are stems from American attitudes after the war, when Germany was EVIL! and poor little Austria was regarded as their innocent victim, and anyway, Austria was now in the front-line in the "fight" against the evil Commies so they're our friends. Which conveniently swept a lot of nastiness under the carpet.