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AUSTRIA/PRESIDENTBack
[Published: Tuesday May 24 2016]

 Austria's new president calls for Unity after narrow win

VIENNA, 24 May - (ANA) - Austria's new president has vowed to listen to the people's "fear and anger" after his far-right opponent narrowly missed out on a landmark victory. Independent Alexander Van der Bellen beat the Freedom Party's Norbert Hofer by just 31,000 votes among the 4.64 million cast in Sunday's election. The victor accepted there was a "rift" but said: "We are two sides of the same coin. Together we make up Austria." Mainstream European politicians expressed relief at the result. If he had won, Mr Hofer would have become the first far-right head of state of a European Union nation. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said all of Europe was "breathing more easily''. And French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said it was a "relief" to see Austrians "reject populism and extremism". Mr Hofer had run on a Eurosceptic, anti-immigration platform. Many nations have seen a surge in nationalist and anti-immigration parties amid the migrant crisis and economic uncertainty. In his victory speech, Mr Van der Bellen, a pro-EU candidate backed by the Greens, said he accepted that many people believed that they were not being heard. He said: "We need a different culture of dialogue and a political system which deals with people's fears and anger." Mr Van der Bellen, 72, said he would "work towards winning the trust of Norbert Hofer's voters" and try to be "a non-partisan president for all the people in Austria". He added: "There's been a lot of talk about this country's rifts. But I think you can also interpret the split as a sign that we are two sides of the same coin and each side is as important as the other." (ANA)
FA/ANA/24 May 2016----------
 

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