Topic: - on November 25, 2002 at 11:54:56 AM CET
Schüssel wins in Austria after voters reject right
A collapse in support for Jorg Haider's far right Freedom party gave Austria's Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel a stunning victory in yesterday's general election after his centre right People's party emerged as the largest party in more than 30 years. According to final results, excluding postal ballots which have yet to be counted, the People's party increased its share of the vote to 42.3 per cent, from 27 per cent in 1999. The Social Democrats, traditionally Austria's biggest party, only managed to increase their share of the vote by just under four percentage points to 36.9 per cent. Their weak result will raise questions about the political survival of Alfred Gusenbauer, the party's leader.
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