Hours earlier, European leaders had hailed pro-EU candidate Alexander Van der Bellen's trouncing of nationalist Norbert Hofer in Austria's Presidential election as a victory over nationalism. In a Europe awash with an apparently infectious populism , how votes go beyond their borders is suddenly very relevant. An annulled election in May put him just 31,000 votes behind Van der Bellen. And while they take comfort in the victory of pro-EU President elect Alexander Van der Bellen, they will no doubt be pondering what his victory really means. He isn't just Western Europe's first Green Party President, he is Austria's first President who isn't from the country's two principle political parties.

Source: CNN December 05, 2016 05:03 UTC