奥地利或选出欧盟首位极右翼领导人

Austria Could Elect EU’s First Far-Right Leader 奥地利或选出欧盟首位极右翼领导人

Austrian voters could elect the European Union’s first far-right leader in a presidential election on Sunday.

Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party is running against Alexander Van der Bellen. Van der Bellen is an independent candidate who led The Greens party earlier. Recent public opinion studies have shown the two candidates with about equal support.

Austria held a presidential election in May. Van der Bellen won that election narrowly. But those results were overturned by Austria’s constitutional court because of problems with voting procedures.

Hofer has taken a strong anti-immigration position during his campaign. Earlier in the campaign, he said he might call a referendum on whether Austria should leave the European Union. Hofer also opposes Turkey’s efforts to join the EU and has spoken out against EU attempts to get too much control over individual states.

Van der Bellen criticized Hofer for his positions during a recent presidential debate. He said Austria’s possible withdrawal¹ from the EU could result in a flood of “right-wing populism.”

Van der Bellen has called for continued close relations with Germany, Austria’s neighbor to the north and biggest trading partner.

Hofer has said he wants to strengthen relations with other central and eastern European nations, including Russia. He denounced German Chancellor² Angela Merkel during a debate.

Hofer said Merkel had caused “serious damage” to Europe by supporting open policies for migrants. He said her actions had allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to pass through Austria, “including terrorists.”

Experts say the presidential campaign in Austria has been heavily influenced by the election of Donald Trump³ in the United States. President-elect Trump has called for severe immigration enforcement and criticized Merkel’s policies on migrants. Political experts say Britain’s vote in June to leave the EU – often called Brexit - also drew attention to the immigration issue.

An opinion study by the U.S.-based Gallup organization asked 800 Austrians how Trump’s victory might affect the voting. About 53 percent said Trump’s win will be better for Hofer, while 9 percent said it will help Van der Bellen.

The office of president in Austria is largely ceremonial. But the president does hold the power to shape policies, appoint and dismiss government ministers and call parliamentary elections.

Some political observers say the outcome in Austria could mark the beginning of a wave of populist candidates across Europe.

In France, the leader of the far-right National Front, Marine⁴ Le Pen, says she believes the Trump and Brexit votes gave her campaign momentum⁵. Le Pen is seen as a possible competitor in France’s presidential election next year.

On Sunday, right-leaning presidential candidate Francois Fillon won a primary election for France’s Republican Party. Fillon, a former prime minister, could face Le Pen in a runoff vote in the country’s two-round election system.

France’s Socialist⁶ President Francois Hollande has announced he will not run for re-election.

The leaders of right-wing movements in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are also hoping to gain from Trump’s election.

Opinion studies show support for the Freedom Party of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders. A general election will take place in March.

Wilders has repeatedly made statements against Islam. He was also tried for violating a hate speech law and is waiting for the court’s decision. A court charged him with inciting⁷ hatred⁸ after leading a chant at a meeting calling for the Netherlands to accept fewer Moroccan immigrants.

Wilders recently described a worldwide movement that, he says, agrees with his political message and the ideas of other far-right leaders. He says the movement is driven by voters. He says they are tired of “politically correct” ideas from traditional politicians and media companies.

"Brexit proved it. The American election proved it,” he said.

Words in This Story

procedure – n. the official or usual way of doing something

referendum – n. a direct vote in which people cast ballots⁹ to decide on a specific issue or policy

populism – n. related to policies that supposedly represent the opinions of ordinary people

momentum – n. the strength or force allowing something to continue or grow stronger

chant – n. the repeated saying of a word, phrase or slogan by a crowd of people

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

7 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

8 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

9 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》