IF WOMEN’S votes had not counted (as was the case until 1918), Norbert Hofer, the far-right candidate, would have won a landslide victory in Austria’s presidential election on May 22nd. According to exit polls, 60% of men supported him. But female voters favoured the Green Party candidate, Alexander Van der Bellen, by a similar margin. The ladies’ affections proved more valuable than the men’s: Mr Van der Bellen won by a sliver, 50.3% to 49.7%.
In many countries women are more likely than men to lean left, and the gap may be widening. In America, Barack Obama had a 12-point margin among female voters in 2012, but lost men to Mitt Romney by eight. This year 60% of women view Donald Trump unfavourably; only 48% feel that way about Hillary Clinton.
It was not always thus. In Europe, women were long seen as bastions of conservatism. In particular, Christian Democrat and Catholic parties benefited from the support of devout female voters. (Women are slightly more likely to be religious than men.) In 1968 the Christian Democrats won more than 50% of the female vote in Italy but…
The Economist: Europe