Hofer, of the anti-immigration and anti-Islam Freedom Party (FPO), conceded he had been soundly beaten by former Greens leader Alexander Van der Bellen. Voters may have heeded Van der Bellen's increasingly strident warnings that Hofer wanted to follow Britain's lead and pull Austria out of the European Union. The projection showed Van der Bellen on 53.3 percent and Hofer on 46.7 percent, with a margin of error of 1 percentage point. Van der Bellen has said he would try to prevent an FPO-led government even if it won an election. Van der Bellen, 72, put Brexit at the heart of his campaign, arguing that Hofer wants Austria to hold its own "Oexit" referendum, putting jobs at risk in the small, trade-dependent country.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 04, 2016 18:48 UTC