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Austrian presidential election marked by "deep gulf" in voting blocs: experts

Xinhua, May 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Voting motivations in the Austrian presidential runoff election that concluded Monday were an evidence of a "deep gulf" between the voting blocs for the two candidates, experts said.

In a study presented at a press conference Tuesday, experts Fritz Plasser and Franz Sommer said the result, which saw Alexander Van der Bellen, a former Greens party leader, win over far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) candidate Norbert Hofer by only a marginal amount, was dominated by a lack of confidence in the political establishment as well as fears of both social and financial decline.

In survey results based on interviews of 1,000 people, they noted that only 12 percent of those who voted for Hofer had complete trust in politicians and political parties, compared to 32 percent of those who voted for Van der Bellen.

Additionally, 69 percent of those who feared a social and financial decline chose to vote for the FPOe candidate, making up roughly 40 percent of all those who voted in the election.

The chasm between the two voting blocs was also very notably present along city-country lines, with Hofer polling around 20 percentage points higher in regional areas, and Van der Bellen an equal amount higher than his rival in city areas.

It was also noted that 52 percent of those who voted for Van der Bellen did so primarily to hinder Hofer from becoming president due to his belonging to the far-right FPOe, and only 47 percent voted for him through conviction of his personality and platform.

Another dividing line was the European Union, the two experts said. Hofer received 80 percent of the vote of EU skeptics, while 80 percent of those in favor of the EU voted for Van der Bellen. Endi