Second term or retirement? Alexander Van der Bellen is expected to announce his decision soon.
New election, government crisis, new election, Corona, government crisis, Corona – the term of office of would have been more exciting Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen can hardly get lost. When the former federal spokesman for the Greens was elected Federal President following three rounds of voting in December 2016, very few people would have expected such a turbulent term in office.
Turbulent tenure behind you, more ahead?
No other Federal President in the history of the Second Republic had to use his powers to the full to guide the Republic through safe waters like Van der Bellen. Only recently did the head of state say in “Standard” that there is no longer any need to discuss whether the office of Federal President is still needed.
The fact is that next autumn there will be another election for the highest office in the state. The now 78-year-old has not yet finally decided whether Van der Bellen will apply once more. In an interview with the “Kurier”, Van der Bellen said: “We are in the final stages of this decision”.
It is not yet clear in which direction the decision will go, but the announcement can be expected around Easter (April 17). Like his predecessors Heinz Fischer and Thomas Klestil, the Federal President was to announce within six months whether he would stand once more or not.
In any case, nothing is leaking out of the presidential office at the moment. Rumors and conjectures are deliberately not commented on and even political insiders don’t know whether Van der Bellen’s name will be on the ballot papers once more in the fall or not.
Even following the past turbulent six years, the Federal President does not appear to be tired of office. Van der Bellen will be able to welcome the Spanish royal couple to the federal capital as early as next week, and the pandemic and the impending war in Eastern Europe are also keeping the President busy.
Record election year 2016
It is currently assumed that the presidential election will be held in October. Waiting Van der Bellens therefore guarantees a short election campaign and also encourages potential challengers to be patient. Even if the incumbent president refrains from running for office once more, the record from 2016 is unlikely to be topped. Due to the election challenge and the postponement of the second run-off due to defective voting cards, Van der Bellen was only elected head of state on December 4th. However, the first round of elections took place on April 24, when Nobert Hofer was able to secure the relative majority of the votes.
A return of Hofer is also in the room this year. However, the third President of the National Council has not yet announced a decision. the newly elected Vice President of the EU Othmar Karas from the ÖVP had already indicated at the beginning of the year that they might start. However, his decision will depend on the Van der Bellens. Burgenland’s Governor Hans-Peter Doskozil, on the other hand, wants a red candidate for the highest office in the state, regardless of Van der Bellen’s decision – he names his predecessor Hans Niessl as a possible SPÖ presidential candidate. However, the party is still hesitant. In any case, the musician and boss of the beer party Marco Pogo will compete.
