Hungary’s new parliament re-elected Viktor Orbán as prime minister

Hungary’s new parliament re-elected Viktor Orbán, the leader of the election-winning Fidesz party, as prime minister today.

Orbán, who is embarking on his fourth term in office, was elected with 134 votes in favour and 28 against.

After the election, Orbán took his oath of office.

Orbán vows to serve all Hungarians in fourth term

Orban, in his inaugural address to parliament, noted that his governing alliance holds two-thirds majority in parliament, but he vowed to “serve the three-thirds”.

“The homeland cannot be in opposition with itself because its vastly transcends the parties,”

Orbán said. “Serving it cannot depend on whether we happen to be in opposition or in government.”

“I stand before you optimistic, hopeful and ready to act,” the prime minister told lawmakers.

Orban thanked the election’s participants, singling out voters who had backed the Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance.

Orbán pledges to plan for next 12 years

He said his Fidesz government was thinking in terms of planning for the next twelve years.

Orbán said Hungary was “in the right constellation”.

“Hungary’s case has been won. Everything needed for great plans ahead has already come together,” he said.

Hungarians, he added, now believed that “tomorrow can be better than today if they do their job right”.

“They want a government that is worthy of their future. This encourages us — and entitles us — to make plans not only for the next four years but for the next ten years, too. Indeed, we should think in terms of twelve years,” Orbán said, adding that this would be in line with the demand for responsible government, given that the next European Union budget will conclude in 2030.

Orbán: ‘Era of liberal democracy is over’

Orbán said:

“The era of liberal democracy is over.”

“In place of the tinkering of liberal democracy that has run aground, we will build a Christian democracy of the 21st-century which guarantees human dignity, freedom and security, protects gender equality, the traditional family model, holds back anti-Semitism, protects our Christian culture and gives our nation a chance to survive and prosper,” Orbán said, referring to “Hungary’s response to a changed world”.