In Local Elections, Hungary’s Opposition Punctures Orban’s Air of Invincibility

In Local Elections, Hungary’s Opposition Punctures Orban’s Air of Invincibility
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, center, during a Fidesz party press conference after nationwide local elections, Budapest, Hungary, Oct. 13, 2019 (MTI photo by Szilard Koszticsak via AP).

Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, and his right-wing Fidesz party incurred significant losses in local elections earlier this month, as opposition candidates won control in 11 of the country’s 23 major cities, unseating several Fidesz-backed incumbents. In an email interview with WPR, Péter Krekó, executive director of Political Capital, a Budapest-based policy research and consulting institute, explains how opposition parties were able to notch so many wins against Fidesz and why, in addition to a setback for his party, the elections were a personal blow for Orban.

World Politics Review: What allowed so many opposition candidates to unseat incumbents from Fidesz?

Péter Krekó: These elections were an important breakthrough for the opposition, especially in big cities. There were two main reasons for this. First, and most importantly, this was the first election where the main opposition parties from across the political spectrum—from liberal parties like the Democratic Coalition and the Momentum Movement to the right-wing Jobbik—managed to cooperate, unifying around a single candidate in key races. This allowed them to consolidate the anti-Fidesz vote, a huge asset in Hungary’s single-round, first-past-the-post election system.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review