For Austria’s Far Right, a Way to Find Victory in Defeat
On Monday afternoon, Austrian officials announced that voters had chosen Alexander Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Green Party, as president, narrowly defeating Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party in one of Europe’s most closely watched elections in years.
It was a close call for Austria; Mr. Hofer would have been Europe’s first far-right head of state since World War II. But for the Freedom Party, there is victory in defeat: Not only did Mr. Hofer make it to the second round of voting, easily outpolling candidates from the center right and center left, but the result was down to the wire — he was ahead on Sunday night, before absentee votes were counted.… Seguir leyendo »