By Askin Kiyagan
VIENNA
Austria will hold a presidential election on Dec. 4 in the shadow of a rising far-right.
Far-right Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer and former Green Party leader Alexander Van der Bellen will run again after Austria’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of May’s presidential vote and called for a rerun.
The court said the May election, in which Van der Bellen narrowly beat Hofer, would have to be repeated after the discovery of irregularities in vote counting across several districts.
Although the presidency is a largely symbolic role in Austria, the Freedom Party's potential success is seen as an indicator of anti-migrant sentiment and disillusionment with mainstream politics.
Local media reports opinion polls suggesting Hofer could take 52 percent and Van der Bellen 48 percent.
Hofer, who advocates a ban on religious coverings in public spaces, is also known for his remarks on immigration and Turkey.
He has said if Turkey joined the EU then he would -- if president -- support an Austrian exit from the bloc.
The Freedom Party candidate is against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and wants to hold a referendum for the deals.
According to supporters, the TTIP deal will boost growth and employment on both sides of the Atlantic. Critics have said it will give too much power to multinational corporations, curtail national sovereignty and consumers’ and workers’ rights.
However, Van der Bellen, who is also against TTIP and CETA, has said he would sign both agreements if he becomes president.
Van der Bellen has also said he would welcome refugees fleeing war, but would reject migrants coming to Austria solely for economic reasons, saying the country should be “deliberate” about who it chooses to admit.
Local media has reported Van der Bellen saying he did not forecast Turkey joining the EU in his presidential term.
Van der Bellen is also known with his support to terrorist PKK organization and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year and has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,100 security force members and civilians, including women and children.
