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Although he ran as an independent candidate, Van der Bellen won the support of four of the five parties that make up Parliament. The 78-year-old politician won his second term with a record turnout of candidates, facing six other candidates. The Austrian presidency is a largely representative position, with very few executive powers.
Amidst a complex landscape in Europe, Austria gave veteran Alexander Van der Bellen a second chance at the presidency.
The nation of more than eight million inhabitants turned to the progressive candidate with 56.1% of the vote. The Green and Popular parties, which make up the Executive, the opposition leader SPÖ and the liberal Neos supported Van der Bellen, considering that his mandate brings stability and continuity in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the crisis economic.
This is also how the Austrians express it, who value his political experience and his good image abroad.
“A majority is easy to say, but an absolute majority means more votes than all the other (candidates) put together, and one has to take that very seriously. I wasn’t entirely sure it would happen, but it did, and I’m very happy.” , said Van der Bellen upon hearing the results.
He also stated that these are “very turbulent times” due to the war, its clear consequences and other factors such as the coronavirus pandemic, for which he wished that “all the constructive forces of the Republic stand shoulder to shoulder” to work on the resolution of these problems.
Of the parties that make up the parliament, only the ultra-nationalist FPÖ presented a candidate of its own. This political attire qualifies the president as a candidate of the elites, in addition to making him co-responsible for other problems such as inflation and the energy crisis.
The FPÖ candidate, Walter Rosenkranz, was the second most voted, with 19.1%, a figure that is expected to increase with the counting of votes by mail. Rosenkranz acknowledged the current president’s victory on the national radio station ORF, stating that he “really managed to secure the nation’s presidency in the first round,” for which he congratulated his contender in the media outlet.
The other five contenders obtained between 8.4% and 1.6% of the votes, highlighting the 35-year-old Dominik Wlazny, the youngest to aspire to the head of state and leader of a rock band.
Never before have there been so many candidates for elections in that nation. The position of president in the Republic of Austria has few executive powers, although it has the constitutional mandate to be able to dismiss the Government or the chancellor. He is also the commander in chief of the army.
Alexander Van der Bellen is an economist by training. A convinced Europeanist and moderate environmentalist, he has gained great popularity by overcoming serious crises in his first term, such as the collapse of the government in 2019 and the resignation of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz for alleged acts of corruption.
