Hofer, meanwhile, conceded his loss in a Facebook posting. Acknowledging that he was “endlessly sad,” Hofer said “I would have been happy to take care of our Austria.” He urged voters of both camps to bury their differences and work together.
Appearing later with Van der Bellen, Hofer said his loss “is really very painful … but the voter is always right in a democracy.”
Far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen of France and anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders in the Netherlands tweeted their support for Hofer as voting took place Sunday, then later made the best of his loss. The two, who both face their own national elections next year, congratulated Hofer on his strong showing.
Le Pen, who hopes to ride anti-immigrant, anti-EU sentiment to the French presidency, tweeted that Hofer and his Freedom Party “fought with courage.”
“Victory will be theirs in the next legislative election!” she added.
