The anti-establishment political wave sweeping Europe could not lift Austria's far-right Freedom Party candidate, Norbert Hofer, who lost the presidency to independent Alexander Van der Bellen on Dec. 4. Van der Bellen, who was backed by the Green Party, claimed 51.7 percent of the vote in the rerun of May's presidential runoff.

Van der Bellen also had won the May vote, which was invalidated because of voting irregularities, but only by a margin of 30,000. This time, his margin was about 300,000. He polled strongly in urban regions and among women, the young and those with higher education levels. Hofer had taken campaign positions against immigration and for a possible referendum on Austria's EU membership. He also spoke in favor of tightening cooperation with the Visegrad Group (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic).

Hofer's candidacy for the largely ceremonial Austrian presidency drew concerns that he could become Europe's first freely elected far-right head of state post-World War II and add momentum to the rising popularity of populist, anti-establishment and anti-immigration parties across the Continent. National elections will be held next year in France, the Netherlands and Germany, and those governments, among others across Europe, welcomed Van der Bellen's victory.

The new president will now have to deal with the political polarization among Austrians. Although Van der Bellen is perceived as liberal and favors the European Union, he does not represent traditional political parties. The establishment center-left Social-Democratic Party of Austria and center-right Austria People's Party were the true losers of these presidential elections, because they failed to reach the runoff vote.

​The Freedom Party remains the most popular party in Austria, currently drawing about 35 percent support in polls. The fact that Hofer received 48 percent of the vote in the runoff demonstrates the embrace of the party by a significant segment of Austrian voters. It will use its popularity to criticize the government, which is ruled by a sizable coalition of center-right and center-left politicians, and continue to position itself as an alternative to traditional parties. When Austria holds parliamentary elections, which are due before the end of 2018, the Freedom Party will once again try to capitalize on popular discontent with political stagnation.