By Wendy Anders

After investigations into electoral irregularities by Austria’s interior ministry, the country’s highest court called for a presidential rerun at a date still to be determined, reported Alexei Korolyov today from Vienna, Austria in a special report for USA Today.

The investigations were requested by the New Freedom Party (FPÖ), a far-right populist party, who lost to Green Party candidate Alexander Van der Bellen by just over 30,000 votes in May 22 presidential voting, said USA Today.

The rerun was mandated because the voting problems affected more than 78,000 votes, more than twice the margin between the candidates; they related to the way mail-in ballots were tabulated. Constitutional Court head Gerhart Holzinger was reported as saying, “Elections are the foundation of our democracy. This decision makes no one a winner or loser, it serves to strengthen the trust.”

Analyst Korolyov noted the wave of populism sweeping Europe as being responsible for boosting FPÖ’s Norbert Hofer in becoming the first far-right candidate to seek to head a European nation since World War II’s end, upsetting Austria’s balance between the left-leaning Social Democrats and the conservative People’s Party.

Under their parliamentary system, Austria’s presidency is largely ceremonial but does influence national policy and government representatives.

“The FPÖ was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents (VdU), representing the “Third Camp” of Austrian politics, i. e. pan-Germanists and national liberals opposed to both socialism and Catholic clericalism. The party’s first leader was Anton Reinthaller, a former Nazi functionary and SS officer,” reports Wikipedia on their website.