Who will be the new president: Elections that divided Austria

Austrians are voting for a new president today, in the third attempt, marking the end of an 11-month election campaign that has divided Austrian society.

The election campaign of the two candidates, Freedom Party (FPO) candidate Norbert Hofer and Alexander Van der Bellen, was polarising, and also a campaign in which the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPO) and the People's Party (OVP), which have always fielded the president so far, were sidelined as spectators, agencies report.

These elections could enter the history books on several counts. For the first time in the country's post-war history, an independent candidate could become president, and at the same time, with Hofer's election, the state would get its youngest president at 45 years old.

In the campaign, Hofer addressed the fears of Austrians from all social strata, primarily the fear of social decline, according to a unanimous assessment by public opinion researchers.

He gathered around him citizens who fear being overwhelmed by excessive immigration, as well as those dissatisfied with the current government (SPO-OVP).

In cities and among younger people, as well as women, Van der Bellen has greater support. He gathered citizens who fear that a victory for the right would threaten the basic values of the republic.

During the election campaign, a referendum-like atmosphere was created, as citizens decide between two completely opposing political currents.

Hofer advocates for a tougher stance by Austria towards the EU, blocking any further centralisation of the Union, and for greater national powers.

Van der Bellen's campaign highlighted the danger of harming Austria's image in the world by electing a right-winger, primarily due to the threat that Hofer's victory could lead to leaving the EU.

He advocates for even closer cooperation within the EU, as well as against spreading hatred towards refugees and immigrants.