Austria: Norbert Hofer Leads by 6 in Presidential Election Do-Over

Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer has extended his lead in new polls heading into the Austrian presidential re-run as he continues to dominate his rival Alexander Van der Bellen.

The polls show that Hofer is now leading the former Green Party leader by six percentage points, after the previous election in which they were both virtually tied. The October 2nd re-run of the second round of the presidential elections could play much differently because of recent terror attacks and instability in Turkey reports OE24.

The poll of 600 Austrian voters, conducted by polling agency Gallup on behalf of the Osterreich newspaper, shows that Mr. Hofer continues to expand his lead on his opponent. Early polls last month showed a four percent lead for the FPO candidate who's party had brought a complaint to the Austrian constitutional court over the postal voting that had won the election for Alexander Van der Bellen. The court found serious discrepancies in the postal ballots and determined that the election would be held again on October 2nd.

According to the paper, the FPO candidate has benefited in the polls due to the recent crackdown by Turkey in the wake of the failed coup in July. The protests by Turks demonstrating in support of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been slammed by Hofer who, along with current Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, has called on Turks to be loyal to Austria first and if they can't, they should leave the country.