European relief at Austrian far-right election defeat Europe's centrist politicians breathed a sigh of relief Sunday after Austria's anti-immigration and euro-sceptic Norbert Hofer was defeated in his bid to become the EU's first far-right president. Instead, Greens-backed independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen swept 53.3 percent of the vote against 46.7 percent for his rival from the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe), according to public television projections. "Today we see a red-white-red -- the flag of Austria -- as a signal of hope and change," Van der Bellen said. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES