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| Austrian Chancellor, Werner Faymann, Resigns as Right Wing Rises | Austrian Chancellor, Werner Faymann, Resigns as Right Wing Rises |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| VIENNA — Austria’s chancellor resigned abruptly on Monday after seven and a half years in office, having lost control of his center-left Social Democratic Party amid a rightward shift fueled by anxiety over migration. | VIENNA — Austria’s chancellor resigned abruptly on Monday after seven and a half years in office, having lost control of his center-left Social Democratic Party amid a rightward shift fueled by anxiety over migration. |
| The chancellor, Werner Faymann, initially supported the decision last year by Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, to welcome migrants fleeing war and poverty and to refuse to set a limit on how many might come. But after a ferocious backlash, Mr. Faymann switched course, joining his coalition partner, the center-right Austrian People’s Party, in supporting border restrictions. | The chancellor, Werner Faymann, initially supported the decision last year by Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, to welcome migrants fleeing war and poverty and to refuse to set a limit on how many might come. But after a ferocious backlash, Mr. Faymann switched course, joining his coalition partner, the center-right Austrian People’s Party, in supporting border restrictions. |
| The policy reversal was not enough to stop the right-wing Freedom Party, which has run on a strident “Austrians First” platform, from capitalizing on the influx of migrants. In September, the party finished second in regional elections in northern Austria. | The policy reversal was not enough to stop the right-wing Freedom Party, which has run on a strident “Austrians First” platform, from capitalizing on the influx of migrants. In September, the party finished second in regional elections in northern Austria. |
| An even greater shock to the establishment occurred on April 24, when the Freedom Party candidate, Norbert Hofer, won the first round of the presidential election, capturing more than one-third of the vote. He will face a former Greens leader, Alexander Van der Bellen, in a May 22 runoff. | |
| The two establishment parties — which have governed for the past decade in a so-called grand coalition, a political constellation that has dominated postwar Austria — together received just 22 percent of the first-round vote. No matter who wins the second round, the next president will not be from either mainstream party, for the first time in decades. | The two establishment parties — which have governed for the past decade in a so-called grand coalition, a political constellation that has dominated postwar Austria — together received just 22 percent of the first-round vote. No matter who wins the second round, the next president will not be from either mainstream party, for the first time in decades. |
| Although the position of president has been considered largely ceremonial, the two parties were thrown into a state of panic. | Although the position of president has been considered largely ceremonial, the two parties were thrown into a state of panic. |
| Left-leaning Social Democrats, angered by Mr. Faymann’s reversal on migration policy, rebelled. Things peaked at Vienna’s May Day celebrations — typically a day of strength for the party, which has governed in the Austrian capital since the end of World War II. Mr. Faymann was booed and heckled as party members held signs demanding his resignation. | |
| That set in motion a flurry of back-room meetings aimed — until now — at rescuing Mr. Faymann at least through the runoff, and possibly the summer. Those talks failed over the weekend, and Mr. Faymann, 56, bowed on Monday to political reality, saying he would step down as chancellor and as the party’s leader. | That set in motion a flurry of back-room meetings aimed — until now — at rescuing Mr. Faymann at least through the runoff, and possibly the summer. Those talks failed over the weekend, and Mr. Faymann, 56, bowed on Monday to political reality, saying he would step down as chancellor and as the party’s leader. |
| “I am grateful that I was allowed to serve the country,” Mr. Faymann said at a news conference in Vienna. | “I am grateful that I was allowed to serve the country,” Mr. Faymann said at a news conference in Vienna. |
| Mr. Faymann said he was proud of his time in office, having guided Austria’s recovery from the financial crisis while investing in education and research. | Mr. Faymann said he was proud of his time in office, having guided Austria’s recovery from the financial crisis while investing in education and research. |
| “We need to fight unemployment, guarantee social cohesion and, in the refugee crisis, ensure order and humanity,” Mr. Faymann said. “The question was thus: Did I have the full support of a strong backing from the party? I have to answer in the negative. The majority is not enough. However, I want to thank all colleagues who have stood with me in these days.” | “We need to fight unemployment, guarantee social cohesion and, in the refugee crisis, ensure order and humanity,” Mr. Faymann said. “The question was thus: Did I have the full support of a strong backing from the party? I have to answer in the negative. The majority is not enough. However, I want to thank all colleagues who have stood with me in these days.” |
| Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner of the Austrian People’s Party will serve as interim chancellor, said Astrid Salmhofer, a spokeswoman for President Heinz Fischer. | Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner of the Austrian People’s Party will serve as interim chancellor, said Astrid Salmhofer, a spokeswoman for President Heinz Fischer. |
| Under Austria’s Constitution, Mr. Mitterlehner could remain in office for days, weeks or even months, Ms. Salmhofer said. Parliamentary elections are not expected until 2018, though an early election is now likely. | |
| Michael Häupl, the veteran mayor of Vienna, who won a tight race last year with a pro-immigrant stance, will take over as the temporary leader of the Social Democrats, but a fierce contest for leadership of the party has already begun. | Michael Häupl, the veteran mayor of Vienna, who won a tight race last year with a pro-immigrant stance, will take over as the temporary leader of the Social Democrats, but a fierce contest for leadership of the party has already begun. |
| Among the challenges facing Austria is the integration of about 90,000 refugees and migrants who applied for asylum last year, as hundreds of thousands more traveled through Austria on their way to Germany and Scandinavia. | Among the challenges facing Austria is the integration of about 90,000 refugees and migrants who applied for asylum last year, as hundreds of thousands more traveled through Austria on their way to Germany and Scandinavia. |
| The Freedom Party’s nationalist and anti-Islam message seems to have struck a chord even in Vienna, with its storied history as the cosmopolitan former capital of the multiethnic and multilingual Austro-Hungarian Empire, and — from 1918 onward — as “Red Vienna,” where workers fought street battles to resist the rise of Nazism, in contrast to the crowds who cheered Hitler when he annexed Austria in 1938. | The Freedom Party’s nationalist and anti-Islam message seems to have struck a chord even in Vienna, with its storied history as the cosmopolitan former capital of the multiethnic and multilingual Austro-Hungarian Empire, and — from 1918 onward — as “Red Vienna,” where workers fought street battles to resist the rise of Nazism, in contrast to the crowds who cheered Hitler when he annexed Austria in 1938. |
| In 1999 elections, the party finished second, and its populist leader, Jörg Haider, was eventually invited to join a government coalition by Wolfgang Schüssel, the leader of the People’s Party at the time. That prompted European partners, above all France, to effectively boycott Austria — much as foreign powers did after Austrians elected Kurt Waldheim as president in 1986 despite revelations that Mr. Waldheim, a former United Nations secretary general, had been attached to German military units in World War II that committed atrocities in the Balkans. | In 1999 elections, the party finished second, and its populist leader, Jörg Haider, was eventually invited to join a government coalition by Wolfgang Schüssel, the leader of the People’s Party at the time. That prompted European partners, above all France, to effectively boycott Austria — much as foreign powers did after Austrians elected Kurt Waldheim as president in 1986 despite revelations that Mr. Waldheim, a former United Nations secretary general, had been attached to German military units in World War II that committed atrocities in the Balkans. |
| Mr. Haider eventually lost power, and the Freedom Party split; he died in a car crash in 2008. But the party never went away, and it has enjoyed a surge of support as tensions over migration have grown. | Mr. Haider eventually lost power, and the Freedom Party split; he died in a car crash in 2008. But the party never went away, and it has enjoyed a surge of support as tensions over migration have grown. |