'Austria's Donald Trump' could still become the first far-right European head of state since WW2

After moving into politics, Hofer worked his way through the ranks of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), a right-wing populist party led by Heinz-Christian Strache. Hofer was a close advisor to Strache in his early years with the FPO and served as a provincial secretary for the Burgenland province for nearly 10 years.

Strache remains as leader of the FPO, but Hofer holds the office of Third President of Austria's National Council, to which he was elected in 2013. In that role he is one of two deputies to the President of National Council, who is essentially the speaker of the Austria parliament.

Hofer's key message is one of immigration control. Last year, roughly 90,000 migrants settled in Austria, a number Hofer sees as far too high. He promised to try and curb further migration from outside of Europe and also reportedly vowed to carry out the deportation of Muslims.

Hofer also advocated repatriating the Italian territory of South Tyrol, which was once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Hofer proposed the idea in a speech in 2015 and has since said that one way of achieving this could be to give people in the area dual Italian and Austrian nationality.

Hofer is a huge advocate for guns, carrying a 9mm Glock pistol around with him on the campaign trail.

He has said that he understands the increase in gun ownership in Austria, "given current uncertainties," and says that gun ownership is a "natural consequence" of immigration. It is reported that Hofer has previously posted images on social media of him at a firing range with his family. Business Insider was unable to find these pictures.

Hofer walks with a stick following an accident in a hang-glider.

Hofer has been described by some commentators as the "Austrian Donald Trump" for his strong stance on immigration, populist politics, and promises to put "Austria First," a slogan that it has been suggested, draws inspiration from Trump's famous "Make America Great Again" battle cry.

While there are big comparisons to be seen between Hofer and Trump, the Austrian is nowhere near as fiery in his rhetoric. He is famously soft spoken, speaking quietly and thoughtfully.

He also denies that he is a right-wing politician. According to the Guardian, Hofer said in a recent interview that he is "to the left of the US Democrats." He added that Austria is lucky not to have an extremist party like Greece’s Golden Dawn, which has in the past been accused of racism and xenophobia, and described as a Neo-Nazi party.

Hofer has portrayed himself as the "Stimme der Vernunft" or the "Voice of reason."

It was suggested that Hofer would be the first far-right head of state in Europe since the end of World War II if elected. While that wasn't strictly true because of Spain's Francisco Franco, who ruled the country as a fascist dictator until 1975, Hofer would have been by far the most right-wing politician to be elected to high office in many decades.

Austria's presidency is a ceremonial role, and the most important power held by the president is the ability to dissolve Austria's parliament. But Hofer had said he would try to extend his powers.

He vowed that if elected, he would go to Brussels to attend European Union meetings, something that is generally reserved for Austria's chancellor, currently Christian Kern. Hofer said he would also refuse to sign the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal, as he believes it would infringe on Austria's sovereignty.

While Hofer is hugely popular, he also has many opponents. Prior to the May election, protestors took to the streets of Vienna to oppose Hofer. Demonstrators compared him to Austrian-born dictator Adolf Hitler, carrying placards that read "No Nazi in the Hofburg (Austria's presidential residence.)"

One of the biggest concerns in some circles about Hofer's rise success is that it could help to galvanise other far-right parties across Europe. Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's Front National is expected to reach the second round of next year's presidential election, while in Germany, Alternative for Deutschland — an anti-Islamic party — has also experienced a gain in popularity.

The Netherlands has also seen a rise in the popularity of the Party of Freedom, which now tops the polls. The party is headed by Geert Wilders, who was banned from entering the UK for his role in creating anti-Islamic film Fitna.

There is already some evidence that Hofer's rise, along with Britain's vote to leave the EU, has boosted both far-right causes, and Euroscepticism on continental Europe.

Since Britain voted to leave the European Union last week, Hofer has also come out in favour of a so-called 'Auxit', saying that the EU should avoid any moves towards political "centralisation" or else Austria could hold a referendum on membership of the bloc within a year.