Austria Elections: Hofer's Win to Help 'Russia, US Move Away From Cold War'

In an interview with Sputnik Germany, Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), did not rule out that if Norbert Hofer from the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) wins today's presidential runoff, it will help Russia and the United States jump-start relations and begin moving away from the Cold War.

In the first round of Austria's presidential elections in April, Hofer and rival Alexander Van der Bellen received 35 and 22 percent of the votes respectively, sending them into a head-to-head confrontation in the second round, held in May.

On May 22, Hofer was narrowly beaten by Van der Bellen, by just less than 31,000 votes.

Austria's Constitutional Court ruled that because some ballots and voting results had been handled improperly, the result should be annulled and the election held again.

The re-run is scheduled for December 4, and according to opinion polls the result is too tight to predict, the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper reported late last week.

Speaking to Sputnik Germany, Heinz-Christian Strache, said, in particular, that "it is a wonderful thing" that the media establishment often draws parallels between Austria's presidential hopeful Hofer and US President-elect Donald Trump.

"In this vein, we can conclude that the US President-elect, whom we deeply respect, can successfully cooperate with the [new] President of Austria," Strache said.

He predicted that if Hofer becomes the President of Austria, he would be able to revive his country's neutrality.

"Upon reviving Austria's neutrality, Hofer could invite Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to Vienna so that Moscow and Washington can once again restore relations and start moving away from the Cold War to full-fledged cooperation and peaceful development," Strache pointed out.

Separately, he praised Hofer's proposals pertaining to the transformation of the European Union.

"Many stress the need to implement the [EU's] reform. Those who love Europe should criticize its shortcomings so that it can develop in the direction which would be close to the population. This should be a Europe where people are able to appreciate the diversity of languages and cultures, and where they can treat each other with respect," Strache said.

Hofer represents the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), whose manifesto campaigns for a "diverse Europe" of "historically developed nations and indigenous ethnic groups," but rejects "forced multiculturalism, globalization and mass migration."

In Austria's last general election, held in 2013, the FPO gained 20.5 percent of the vote, in third place behind the Social Democratic Party (26.8 percent) and the Austrian People's Party (24 percent).

A November 18 survey of 1,500 respondents gave Van der Bellen a small lead over Hofer, by 51 percent to 49 percent, with a 3.1 percent margin of error.

Another survey conducted between September 19 and November 17 gave Hofer a small lead, with the support of between 50 and 52 percent of voters. However, that survey had a margin of error of between 3.4 and four percent.