The American political organisation is in shambles . But at least we can take solace knowing that we ’re not alone this twelvemonth . Austria ( the one in Europe with the Schwarzeneggers , not the one with the kangaroos ) is get some major job with their current presidential election . And it ’s all because of some defective envelope .
Austria ’s in - person suffrage for president was scheduled for October 2nd . But official are now scrambling to press back the date , since it ’s been fall upon that mail - in ballots are invalid . The understanding ? The mucilage on the envelopes for the ballots is shoddy , cause them to open in the mail . This , of course , is a problem . Who ’s to say that a ballot has n’t been tamper with before it arrives at its name and address ?
“ I must acknowledge that a vote - menu product error is the reason why we can not insure an election that is irreproachably in accordance with the law , ” the Wall Street Journal quote Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka as saying at a intelligence conference inVienna today . “ We can not approximate today how many and which of these ballot cards could still open . ”
The end is to push back the voter turnout until December 4th . The two main contenders in the election are the centrist nominee Alexander Van der Bellen and the far right nominee Norbert Hofer .
Norbert Hofer , a member of the Austria ’s Freedom Party , has positioned himself as a populist and has incline on a strongly anti - immigrant platform . Some people have even call Hofer “ Austria ’s Donald Trump . ”
Notably , the Freedom Party was in the beginning founded by former Nazi SS members and Hofer has become notorious for introduce the Austrian political version of cad whistles into his manifesto and clothing that might pass one to believe he ’s sympathetic to neo - national socialist causa . As just one example , Hofer has worn a blue cornflower symbolisation on his lapel aslate at 2013 . When the Nazi party was banned in Austria from 1934 until 1938 , Nazi sympathizers in Austria would wear the symbolization as a confidential way to identify each other .
When diary keeper ask members of the Freedom Party about the dismal Uvularia grandiflora some will bend over backward to say something about a tradition that dates back to the 1840s , but others will just say , “ The Uvularia grandiflora is simply the Freedom Party flower and we care it , ” as one fellow member of the party severalise theBBC in May . The latter seems to be a more reliable answer with much more terrific implications for Europe .
Hofer has also declare oneself aban on burqas , but some backers have said that in recent months Hofer has “ cushion ” his position on both immigrants and Islam . But Hofer has very clearly said “ Islam has no topographic point in Austria . ”
course , members of the Freedom Party are n’t happy that the vote in Austria is being delay by this envelope thrashing . Especially since this vote is the result of a trial - off in the first place . As theWall Street Journalpoints out , the delay could energize Hofer ’s base and get anti - establishment voters to turn out in December . That certainly fathom intimate to Americans . Again , it ’s at least comforting to know that we ’re not alone in the great political clusterfuck that is 2016 .
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