The Man Who Lived Twice

Left-leaning Alexander van der Bellen wins in the re-run of Austria’s presidential election, once again defeating far-right candidate Norbert Hofer. Alexander even increased his lead over the far-right candidate by a significant margin from the original vote in May, which was annulled by the Constitutional Court of Austria on July 1, a week before he was to take office.

Alexander van der Bellen’s supporters celebrate in Vienna, one holding a sign that reads “thank God”. Photo: Roland Schlager/AFP/Getty Images.

Green Light

Alexander van der Bellen, a former Green party leader running as independent, beats the Freedom party’s Norbert Hofer A leftwing, independent candidate has narrowly prevented Austria from becoming the first EU country to elect a far-right head of state after a knife-edge contest ended with his opponent conceding defeat. [Read more].

• Kate Konnolly and John Henley, Far-right candidate narrowly defeated in Austrian presidential election, The Guardian, May 23, 2016

Alexander van der Bellen waves to supporters at the Palais Auersperg after the Austrian presidential elections runoff. Photo: Florian Wieser/EPA.