Wednesday

7th Jun 2023

Hungary's Orban wins another term, Jobbik support jumps

  • Orban has had several run-ins with the EU on the constitutional changes he made (Photo: European Parliament)

Hungary's centre-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban was handed another four years in government after national elections on Sunday (6 April), early results show, while the far-right Jobbik scooped a fifth of the votes.

The results indicate that ruling centre-right party Fidesz – on 45 percent of the vote – is set to retain its supermajority in parliament. A party with two-thirds of the parliamentary seats can unilaterally change the constitution.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

In a speech on Sunday night Orban said Fidesz had achieved a European record by being the party with the highest rate of support.

He also said voters had closed the debates of the past four years. The 50-year-old prime minister and his government were heavily criticised over the past years for various legislative and economic policies.

Orban, who has also had several run-ins with the EU over some of these same policies, said the vote means Hungarians have said no to exiting the EU if Hungary has a strong national government.

This was a message for the far-right party, Jobbik, which, as well as promising to be tough on crime, advocates a referendum on membership.

Jobbik scored 21 percent in the election, up from 17 percent in 2010, and more than polls had projected. Party leader Gabor Vonar said he had the strongest national radical party in the European Union.

The leftist alliance, Unity, got 25 percent while the green LMP barely made the five percent threshold.

Voter turnout was 61 percent, lower than four years ago.

Gordon Bajnai, former technocrat prime minister and leader of the opposition's coalition said the alliance in its form was unable to make an attractive offer to Hungary.

He accused Fidesz of manipulating the election in its favour and of dominating the media and said there was no reason to congratulate the party.

During the campaign, the opposition said that the elections were free, but not fair.

Looking to the immediate future, Bajnai called on supporters to start campaigning for the European Parliamentary elections, in late May.

Opinion

Where next after the Hungarian election?

The EU vote in Hungary is set to see a strong tussle for second place between the far-right Jobbik party and a coalition of leftist parties.

Letter

Right of Reply from the Hungarian government

Authors Samira Rafaela MEP and Tom Theuns present as facts the extreme views of a politically-motivated campaign in the European Parliament. By doing so, they undermine the very foundations of the European Union.

Latest News

  1. Right of Reply from the Hungarian government
  2. True scale of horror in today's Belarus hard to comprehend
  3. Israeli settlers encircling Jerusalem, EU envoys warn
  4. No clear 'Qatargate effect' — but only half voters aware of EU election
  5. Part of EU middle class 'being squeezed out', MEP warns
  6. Migration commissioner: Greek pushback film 'clear deportation'
  7. In 2024, Europe's voters need to pick a better crop of MEPs
  8. ECB president grilled over €135bn interest payout to commercial banks

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us