A long goodbye to the grand coalition: Austria’s presidential election

Following the first round of Austria’s presidential election, Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the Green-affiliated independent candidate Alexander van der Bellen will contest the second round of voting on 22 May. However for the first time in the country’s post-war history, the next President will not be backed by either of Austria’s two traditionally dominant parties, the SPÖ and ÖVP. Philip Rathgeb and Fabio Wolkenstein write that the election marked a watershed moment for the country’s party system, suggesting that only a radical change of strategy can prevent the two mainstream parties from losing power at the next parliamentary elections.