Comment du Jour

Hungarian Election

Populist/Nationalist Tone

Prime Minister Viktor Orban won a decisive victory with his FIDESZ party being re-elected to power in parliamentary elections.   Orban a populist conservative saw his  FIDESZ party win 44.5% of the vote to gain 133 seats in the Budapest parliament.

The Socialist/left coalition came in a weak second with 26% of the vote.

Jobbik, a rightist nationalist movement won 20% of the vote and garnered 23 seats.

The government will narrowly hold on to its two-thirds majority in parliament.

The Hungarian election was set to the backdrop of an economy still suffering recession as well as facing the reverberations of Russian moves in neighboring Ukraine.   Prime Minister Orban, despite his conservative stance on many issues, has not openly condemned Moscow's moves in Crimea, nor has Hungary planned to join sanctions on Russia.  Earlier this year,  Hungary has signed a nuclear energy deal with Russia.

Orban has often clashed with the EU as well concerning controversial constitutional changes and nationalizations.

Since regaining its sovereignty and freedom in the post-communist era, Hungary has joined both the European Union (EU) and NATO.  Hungary's economy, once thriving with investment and trade, has cooled during the recession.