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Austrian president seeks re-election by first-round knock-out

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Candidates in Austria's presidential election wrapped up on Friday (7 October), ahead of Sunday's (9 October) vote. The incumbent, and clear favourite Alexander Van der Bellen, hopes he can win a majority in order to avoid a runoff.

Most polls show Van der Bellen (the 78-year old former leader of Greens) on just over half the required 50% to win in the first round. The challenge now is to mobilize his supporters and convince him that his victory is not certain.

Van der Bellen is supported by senior figures from both of the major centrist parties, but neither party has filed candidates. With Walter Rosenkranz, of the far-right Freedom Party, (FPO), his closest rival, he faces six opposition, all men.

Van der Bellen said, "This isn't a done deal", at his closing campaign rally, which was attended by grandstands from all parties except the FPO (the third largest in the lower house).

"Please vote, and encourage others to vote. Sofa and comfort are the biggest enemies of democracy this Sunday."

While the Austrian president is primarily a ceremonial position, he also has broad powers that allow him to oversee periods of transition and turbulence. Van der Bellen has been through many crises and his reputation for having a calm and steady hand is based on his relaxed demeanour.

Van der Bellen had defeated a far-right candidate in a close contest in 2016. Van der Bellen swear in a coalition government formed by the FPO and the conservative People's Party in 2017. The coalition government was then dissolved in scandal in 2019, after the FPO's former leader was secretly recorded offering to fix state contracts.

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Sebastian Kurz , a Conservative star, resigned as chancellor last year due to corruption allegations. Van der Bellen has sworn into two other conservative chancellors.

Rosenkranz spoke out at his closing rally on the core FPO themes, immigration, law, and order and criticised Brussels. Van der Bellen was accused by Rosenkranz of being the candidate for the political establishment and the "system".

Rosenkranz, 60 years old, stated that he has a funny feeling there would be a runoff. The speech was so long that the news networks cut it short before it ended.

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