奥地利总统大选 反移民候选人被击败

Independent Defeats Populist in Austrian Presidential Election 奥地利总统大选 反移民候选人被击败

Austria has elected Independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen as president. The former Green Party leader defeated Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer.

Van der Bellen captured 53.3 percent of the vote, compared to 46.7 percent for Hofer. The results do not include absentee ballots¹ but officials say there are too few of those to change the outcome.

Van der Bellen supports Austrian membership in the European Union. He called his victory a “signal of hope and change” to “all the capitals of the European Union.”

In contrast, Hofer spoke² out against EU attempts to get too much control over individual states. He threatened to call a referendum on whether Austria should leave the EU. He also took a strong anti-immigration position during his campaign.

Experts partly link Hofer’s rise in popularity to immigration policies. Many people are concerned about the current migrant crisis in Europe. Tens of thousands of migrants have sought asylum³ in Austria in the past few years.

Many of Hofer’s followers⁴ are young men. They include members of Austria’s so-called Identity movement, which opposes multiculturalism⁵. The movement is growing, adding groups in countries across Western Europe.

Hofer’s loss is seen as a setback⁶ to such populist movements in Europe.

Hofer told reporters that although he lost, he will keep up efforts to make sure the Austrians who voted for him are not ignored. “We are not done,” he told VOA. “I will fight for the next elections.”

Political experts say the election of Donald Trump⁷ in the United States heavily influenced politics in Austria and other EU nations. Trump campaigned on strong immigration enforcement and criticized European policies on migrants.

Words in This Story

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

multiculturalism – n. the belief that different cultures within a society should all be given the same importance

setback – n. a problem that makes something happen later or more slowly than it should

populist – adj. related to policies that supposedly represent the opinions of ordinary people

1 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》

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

4 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

5 multiculturalism   

n.多元文化

参考例句：

• Switzerland is well known for cheese fondue, penguin parades and its multiculturalism. 瑞士一向以芝士火锅，企鹅游行和多元文化等特色闻名于世。
• That may be one reason why multiculturalism came easily to it. 这也是多元文化容易适应发展的原因之一。

6 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

7 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。