Austria is at risk of becoming dominated by the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Green presidential candidate Alexander Van der Bellen said Tuesday as he launched the final stretch of his campaign, according to dpa. In the run-off presidential vote on December 4, citizens have the choice between the former Green party chief and Norbert Hofer, whose opposition FPO is predicted to win the next parliamentary election. "The FPO sees the presidency only as an important interim step" to take political control, Van der Bellen told supporters at a rally. "We will stop them," he said, vowing to act as a counterweight against right-wing demagoguery. The presidential election process has been beset by problems. Van der Bellen won a first run-off election in May with a lead of less than 1 per cent, but Austria's top court ordered a re-vote after procedural voting irregularities surfaced. The repeated election had to be postponed from early October to December because the envelopes for postal voting were found to be defective. The two candidates have widely opposing views on the European Union. Hofer, a deputy president of parliament, has suggested that Austria might leave the bloc. Van der Bellen said Tuesday that EU members must cooperate more closely now that the isolationist Donald Trump has been elected US president. "This means that we must to join ranks, discover similarities and defend our interests together" in Europe, the Green candidate said.
