Austrian president seen cruising to victory over far-right challengerProjections show Alexander Van der Bellen winning over 55%, avoiding runoff and securing second six-year term, with Freedom Party’s Rosenkranz forecast to get 18% of ballotsVIENNA, Austria (AP) — Austria’s liberal president was on course to win a second six-year term outright Sunday, avoiding a runoff vote after a campaign in which he portrayed himself as the stable option in uncertain times, projections showed.Van der Bellen’s closest rival, far-right Freedom Party candidate Walter Rosenkranz, was expected to get around 18% support.There were seven contenders in Sunday’s election, but Van der Bellen had the implicit or explicit backing of Austria’s mainstream parties.“We have never had seven candidates in a presidential election before, and I don’t think we have ever — at least I can’t think of an example — had such an environment in which people are unsettled, where discontent with politics is high and you don’t know what direction that will go in,” he told ORF.Rosenkranz told ORF that he had achieved an “absolutely acceptable result.”The remaining five candidates — all of whom were seen polling under 10% — included other contenders on the hard right."