Disappointment with the Austrian government‘s handling of the refugee crisis has turned into realistic opportunities for opposition and independent candidates in the upcoming presidential election. Could this spell the end of centrist dominance in Austrian politics?Vienna (dpa) - Since the end of World War II, Austrians could count on one constant.Their president was always from the Social Democratic Party (SPOe) or the conservative People‘s Party (OeVP), the centrist forces that have dominated political life in the small but wealthy country for seven decades.But Austrians will likely vote a Green, a far-right or an independent candidate into office for the first time in the upcoming presidential elections, in a sign that the political system has become increasingly polarized amid the refugee crisis.Ahead of Sunday‘s election, 72-year-old former Green party leader Alexander Van der Bellen leads in the most recent polls with around 25 per cent.Norbert Hofer, 45, was relatively unknown when he entered the race for the opposition Freedom Party (FPOe) in January - even though he is a deputy president of Austria‘s parliament. The rightist legislator now enjoys support among 24 per cent of voters, according to a survey published this week by the Kurier newspaper.Irmgard Griss, a 69-year-old former supreme court president, runs on an independent ticket and is poised only 2 percentage points behind Hofer.While all three have a real chance of making it into a run-off vote in May between Sunday‘s two strongest contenders, the candidates fielded by the centrist government coalition parties SPOe and OeVP lag far behind.Social Democrat Rudolf Hundstorfer and conservative Andreas Khol have a combined backing of only 26 per cent of the electorate, according to the Kurier poll."This is not a good sign for public sentiment vis-a-vis the government," said Kathrin Stainer-Haemmerle, a political scientist at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences in Klagenfurt.Led by Social Democratic Chancellor Werner Faymann, the cabinet has tried hard to outdo the far-right in recent months by launching a barrage of policies to police borders, erect frontier fences and raise bureaucratic barriers for asylum seekers.It has been a stark shift from last year, when Faymann had backed German Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s welcoming stance towards refugees. Around 90,000 people applied for asylum in Austria in 2015.But voters are not impressed with the party‘s efforts. Surveys over the past months have shown that nearly 30 per cent of Austrians would vote for the far-right FPOe in parliamentary elections. Neither of the coalition parties enjoys that much support.People are turning to the anti-immigration and anti-EU FPOe because they feel that the government is only doing what the far-right has been calling for all along, Stainer-Haemmerle told dpa."Parties that can say ‘Told you so‘ will always score," she said.On the other end of the political spectrum, opposition Green candidate Van der Bellen has won the support of many prominent artists who were previously seen as being close to the SPOe and its once liberal asylum policies."[A]n exceptionally experienced personality who is not an opportunist and who can not be manipulated is needed as head of state," Austrian poet and impresario Andre Heller said, explaining why he backs Van der Bellen.A possible election win by the rightists in the 2018 parliamentary vote was a major topic in the presidential campaigns, as the Austrian head of state has the job of choosing a chancellor.While the job usually goes to the top candidate of the strongest party, Van der Bellen has said he would not task FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache with leading the government.As long as the FPOe insists on policies "that are totally counter-productive, I find it most difficult imagining that I would make Strache chancellor," Van der Bellen reiterated Wednesday in a radio interview.Hofer has sharply criticized Van der Bellen for ignoring the will of the people."We don‘t need a fascist Green dictator. Election results must be respected," he said at a campaign rally.At the same time, Hofer has threatened to use his presidential powers to dismiss the cabinet if it allows thousands of migrants and refugees travel through Austria to Germany each week - as the government did last year.These are big statements from both sides; no Austrian president has refused to swear in or has dismissed a cabinet since World War II.
