Will Neo-Nazis Soon Govern Austria?

Fascism is again one step away from power in Austria as the ultra-conservative candidate Norbert Hofer is leading polls ahead of the redo of the country's election Sunday following a canceled second round vote in July in which the left-wing candidate Alexander Van der Bellen won.

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Known as "the European Trump," Hofer – from the hard-right Freedom Party, or FPO – is hoping to become Austria's next president. On Thursday, he gained parliament’s support over his rival Van der Bellen, who is running as independent but is backed by the Green Party.

Van der Bellen enjoys support from progressive groups in Austria and most recently received the support of an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor without any political affiliation. The elderly woman, named Gertrude, gave her testimony in a video in which she urges people to “vote wisely.”

"It's probably my last election, there's not much future for me," Gertrude said in the video that has gone viral with more than 3 million views. "But the young have all their lives ahead of them, and it's up to them to see that they continue to do well. They can only do that if they vote wisely."

Gertrude, her parents and two younger brothers were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp when she was 16 years old. She was the only member of the family to survive.

Hofer’s FPO is a party deeply connected with the Nazis and a contributor to right-wing extremist organizations. The political organization functioned as a holding center for former Nazis after World War II while its leaders now openly champion anti-Europe sentiments and firmly reject the entrance of asylum seekers in Austria.

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Gertrude didn't give her last name but says she is a retiree from Vienna. She explained that she has been perturbed by "the anti-migrant sentiment, the insults towards others, the denigration and the bad-mouthing" that she has heard during the campaign by the FPO.

The 45-year-old ultra-conservative candidate Hofer, however, presents himself as a centrist with a soft voice and warm speech, leading his detractors to say that "he is a wolf in sheep's clothing."

If elected, Hofer's win would mark the first time in post-war Austria that the president was not from one of the two main parties – the Social Democrats and the People’s Party – which have traded control of the government in the country since 1945. Both parties have endorsed Hofer.