Austrian far-right concedes defeat in presidential race

Austria's Norbert Hofer conceded defeat Sunday in his bid to become Europe's first far-right president, as projections showed he was lagging behind in a bitterly fought election re-run.
Greens-backed independent Alexander Van der Bellen swept 53.3 percent of the votes against 46.7 percent for his rival from the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe), according to public television projections.
Hofer's likely defeat will see EU leaders breathe a sigh of relief in the wake of the anti-establishment tide sweeping many countries following the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's shock election triumph in the US.
"I am incredibly sad that it didn't work. I would have liked to watch over our Austria," the 45-year-old Hofer said in a message on Facebook.
"I congratulate Alexander Van der Bellen on his success and call on all Austrians to stick together and work together."
The official result of the marathon election, which lasted nearly a year, is not expected before Monday when postal votes will be tallied.
But the Freedom Party conceded defeat within minutes of the poll projections being released, shortly after voting ended. The outcome deals a crushing blow to Hofer who already narrowly lost to Van der Bellen, 72, in a first runoff in May, an outcome that was contested by the FPOe and eventually annulled over ballot counting breaches. "If the projections are right, the Austrian election result will be a clear victory for common sense against right-wing populism," said Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.
Smooth-tongued gun enthusiast Hofer had vowed to "get rid of the dusty establishment", seek closer ties with Russia and fight against "Brussels centralising power".
Observers had feared that a win for the Austrian far-right could trigger a domino effect with key elections next year in France, Germany and The Netherlands.
Some 6.4 million Austrians were eligible to vote in Sunday's election.
Back in May, the postal vote had swung the ballot in favour of ex-Greens party chief Van der Bellen who beat his rival by just 31,000 votes.
The re-run ends an ugly 11-month campaign which saw Hofer posters being defaced with Hitler moustaches and Van der Bellen's with dog excrement. The far-right candidate had largely avoided inflammatory rhetoric, instead tapping into public anxieties about record immigration and rising unemployment.