Van der Bellen new President of Austria

Austrian citizens today elected the leader of the left-wing Green Party, Alexander Van der Bellen, as President of Austria, reports Patria. 

His main rival was Norbert Hofer from the right-wing Freedom Party, known to the public for advocating anti-immigrant policies. Hofer congratulated Van der Bellen on Facebook and asked all Austrians to stick together.

"We are all Austrians, regardless of how we decided in the ballot box. Long live our homeland Austria," Hofer wrote.

These are the third presidential elections this year, after two previous failed ones that were annulled by the constitutional court due to irregularities.

In April, Hofer won, while in the second round of elections in May, Der Bellen won by 31,000 votes more than his opponent.

Hofer has stated several times that Austria could take Great Britain as an example and implement its own "Brexit", withdrawal from the European Union (EU).

(N1)