Reply #6: Voters give far right a drubbing in Austria presidential election [View All]

[pampango]

Source: Christian Science Monitor

The Austria presidential election was a landslide victory for incumbent Heinz Fischer and saw the far right poll worse than expected, sending a message that its appeal is dimming, analysts say.

Austrian voters sent a clear message Sunday to the far right when they shunned Freedom Party candidate Barbara Rosenkranz and voted overwhelmingly for independent Heinz Fischer to serve a second term as president.

Mr. Fischer, formerly with the Social Democrats, garnered nearly 78 percent of the vote. Rosenkranz came in a distant second with 15.5 percent. Rudolf Gehring, leader of the newly formed Christian Party, received nearly 6 percent of the vote. Rosenkranz is a member of the lower house of parliament. She became known on the campaign trail as "Reich Mother" for her strong anti-foreigner stance, while critics cast her as a Nazi sympathizer.

The question was not whether Fischer would win big, but how big. The goal of the Freedom Party was to capture 25 percent of the vote, which would have been consistent with national elections two years ago. But Rosenkranz was met with significant and vocal opposition by voters.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0426/Voters-give-far-right-a-drubbing-in-Austria-presidential-election