EU foreigners prevented Austrian crash

The daily Der Standard comments on the victory of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the independent EU critic Hans-Peter Martin: "More than one third of voters cast their ballots for populist parties and their top candidates during the Austrian EU elections. The FPÖ doubled its score, although it failed to live up to the results forecast in the surveys. With the undying support of [the daily] Kronen Zeitung, Martin had no trouble defending his third place. Not many of his voters will know what he stands for, what his political programme is or who occupies the second spot on the party's electoral list. Clearly it is enough in this country to enjoy the confidence of [Kronen Zeitung's publisher] Hans Dichand, to fulminate against the EU and to blaze along the campaign trail with a light bulb in your hand. ... Voter turnout didn't plummet as expected, a fact due in part to the Europeans from other countries elegible to vote here, as well as naturalised Austrians for whom voting is not a right to be taken for granted."

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