Hungary’s opposition will hold the country’s first ever primary elections this year to pick joint candidates to contest the 2022 national election, six parties said on Wednesday, a move that could threaten Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s grip on power.
Hardline nationalist Orbán and his Fidesz party have scored three successive landslides since 2010 largely due to an election system that favours large parties as the opposition has been fragmented and unable to cooperate until now. But a patchwork of parties that includes the former far-right Jobbik, which has redefined itself as a centre-right grouping, as well as the Socialists, liberals and greens, upset Fidesz in municipal elections in 2019.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, who as the candidate of a small green liberal party unseated the Fidesz incumbent in the biggest upset of those local polls, said the opposition cooperation may serve as a blueprint to unseat Orbán.
A first primary round on September 18-26 will select a single opposition candidate in each of Hungary’s 106 electoral districts.
Each district will also pick its preferred candidate for prime minister from a small selection of joint candidates.
There will be a runoff in the vote for the prime ministerial candidate on Oct. 4-10.
Opinion polls put Fidesz and the opposition coalition neck-and-neck and show Orbán’s party losing ground especially in large cities, foreshadowing the tightest election race since 2006. Orbán put the economy back on track after the 2008 financial crisis but has also curbed the judiciary, media and cultural freedoms, drawing criticism from the European Union. He has also
built cordial relations with Russia and China.
The election campaign is likely to be centred around the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Hungary has
suffered the highest COVID-19 death toll per capita in the world,
Worldometer data shows, but it now also boasts one of the EU’s fastest vaccination campaigns that has allowed it to reopen the economy quickly.
Source: Reuters
please make a donation here
Hot news
Top Hungary news: snow covered Hungary, regime change in Budapest parking, forint free fall – 22 November, 2024
THE ranking: Győr’s Széchenyi István University among the top science universities
Hungarian minister proud that both German and Chinese battery plants are built in Hungary
Here are the top Hungarian cities for expats seeking a new home
Drugs situation in Budapest serious, leading politician says
“Hungarian Iron Dome” deployed near the Ukrainian border, expert says Putin will attack Hungary
12 Comments
Not going to happen, Orban and Fidesz will hold their grip on power. Why? Because they offer the majority of Hungarians what they want, conservative policies with emphasis on family values, mainting a grip on the borders and stopping forced acceptance of migrants whom offer nothing but an outstretch hand for free stuff at someone elses expense. The opposition parties are ALL in the control of George Soros with exception of maybe one of 2 small parties that may garner enough votes to seat 1 or 2 representatives in the Parliament. The puppets of Soro’s would like to erase the borders, allow immigrants to over run Hungary and destroy family values in favor of moral degeneracy and the puppets of Soro’s will bring a return to a Marxist atmosphere here in Hungary. Is that what the majority of Hungarians want? I think not. The media does NOT speak for the Hungarian people..just the globalist marxist camp . We are not listening.
What about the continuation of China’s influence by it’s investment and money, donation of funds and contributions into Fidesz and the escalation of POWER within Hungary, that China is openly displaying in its Political Party of preference and support, that is growing rapidly in the knowledge of all citizens in Hungary from whatever “station in life” they come.
Not Mario must not comment as is his style one dimensional, thinking Fidesz have all the correct ingredients for the future of Hungary.
Hungary will continue to be scorned by the European Union and America.
Look broadly outside the square because there is much to happen leading up to the national Elections of 2022 in Hungary and growing numbers of powerful financial contributors anti Fidesz, that will ensure the elections are vigorous and aggressive, and that the victor, whatever party, win Democratically RIGHTFULLY.
The majority of Hungarians are in agreement with the views of Not Mario.
ORBAN HAS BEEN ELECTED AND WILL BE ELECTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE DEMOCRATICALLY AND NOT BY A BUNCH OF LEFT WING, POWER-HUNGRY INDIVIDUALS.
No one equals Orban, especially not these bunch of pathetic, failed politicians governing the EU or
the ridiculous “old man” in America.
Whilst you are scheming, he is working hard FOR HIS PEOPLE.
You will win if you can prove that you can do better.
That is what counts not some misguided individual’s MYOPIC dreams.
Its sad to see how deep this dictator party (fidesz) got his influence and control.
This guy NotMario who is 100% on Fidesz payroll, defending his daddy Orbinator on all political articles, on this news site, like its his job, probably is his job to PR Orbi.
As a foreigner i am concern for this country and its people, who always thrived for freedom and nationalism yet allowing this politicians to control them and take all the lil’ freedom they have left.
Lets not forget few years when Fidesz wanted to tax and control the internet, they took control of the universities, and they are literarily selling the country to Russia and China, and they dont even hide it anymore, and the ones who are saying something are being silenced. Lets not forget the fact that free press was NOT ALLOWED to talk to healthcare workers regarding about the pandemic, and the only one opposition news outlet was also silenced. When Metro 4 was build 500 millions euro disappeared, guess what happened.
“We learn from history that we do not learn from history” good luck to you all, you will need it.
Foreigners like “Notpolitical” should just SHUT UP and ‘mind their own business’.
Registered Hungarian voters – NOT interfering ‘outsiders’ – will decide at next year’s election if the FIDESZ-led Government will remain in power for another term or be replaced by a “sausage coalition” of (proven) incompetent wannabe politicians.
Hungary welcomes foreigners as GUESTS – and these people should remember they are nothing more than that !
For someone who claims to be a foreigner, “Notpolitical” seems to make it his / her business to interfere in another country’s political and economic affairs.
My advice to you is LET HUNGARIANS DECIDE WHO THEY WANT AS LEADER – not ‘busybodies’ like yourself who gratuitously want to influence and dictate how we should vote.
Hungary will continue flourish as we already have what you call ” GOOD LUCK” by NOT having a LEFTIST / COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT.
We have not been so fortunate for decades.
It is obvious that you haven’t lived through a communist regime when you didn’t know if tomorrow it may be your turn for a “black car” of the government security services to stop in front of your house and
take you away for some stupid ‘drummed-up’ reason.
When you couldn’t trust anyone -sadly – not even your family members.
Then you would comprehend the Hungarians’ distrust for anything that is even VAGUELY communist.
Hungary does NOT interfere in the business of other sovereign nations and we Hungarians request the same in return.
Right, the usual suspects ‘Alfred’ and ‘Not Mario’ commenting on any political news article. Look we get it, you are employed by Fidesz to do PR. Its getting old, calling anyone Communist, Socialist if its not with Fidesz. Russia, China those are 100% communists and guess who has ties with them ?! Yep, Fidesz friends are the communist.
As a foreigner, who pays taxes and calls Hungary home, I guess I qualify to have an opinion, but I am also a registered voter and I will vote on the next elections, and I am deciding the future of this country.
BTW I emigrated from an ex-communist country, and I have an idea of what communism is, looks similar to Fidesz political agenda: owns media, control universities, calls the west the enemy, friends with Russia, judicial politicization etc.
Looking forward for the reply from Fidesz PR
to Anonymous comment: “Hungary does NOT interfere in the business of other sovereign nations and we Hungarians request the same in return.”
funny you say that, maybe we should ask Slovakia, Serbia, Roumania, Ukraine, the aggressive support of fidesz for the extreme magyar organizations in this neighboring countries. How Fidesz support groups in roumania and slovakia who fights to gain territories of this sovereign countries ! , should i go on ?
“Hungary does not interfere in the business of other sovereign nations” that is hilarious !!!!
Not Political your a misinformed person. I have zero connection to any political group in Hungary or for that matter anywhere on the planet. Victor Orban and Fidesz are by no means perfect but as politicians go they are an acceptible known group whom mostly do what the majority of Hungarians ask them to do in regards to international affairs. The rest of the Soro’s lap dogs are only in it because they are being paid to help Georgie Boy enact his open borders agenda and to help wreck individual nations identity and history in order to help with the globalist agenda to wreck nationalism so they can get their one world government and global digital banking system. If that happens anyone who does not go along with the globalist agenda will find their money cut off, lose their job and be a total outcast in society just like how dissidents in China are treated. No way should people allow themselves to be subjugated under another tyrannical regime. If you support the Soro’s agenda you really need to have your head examined.
NotMario, you forgot about the evil 5G and how Gates will control us with covid vaccine, also the earth is flat and how the world is rules by the lizard people.
Heard this record before, its all over the internet, the argument of everything for you Conspiracy Theorist, but you are so deep in this collective narcissisms that I feel sorry for you. But hey, its a free country, kinda , probably not for long, so you say what you want or what you being told, and i will choose facts.
Remember Not Mario, facts facts facts the kryptonite for you conspiracy theorist, you should try it sometimes doesn’t hurt.
Looking forward for your future theories and delusions.
Bless your soul, dont let them get you
Not Political…Get a life loser, What does 5G and Gates have to do with Orban and Hungary? Really your grasping at straws. No one is talking about conspiracy theories. We are talking about proven facts. Go back to school and ask to attend the classes for critical thinking and common sense. You obviously never learned those subjects.
NotMario, interesting insulting counter-arguments, you definitely winning this debate.
I see you know the word ‘fact’ now, next step is to understand and use it correctly.
Be careful now, they are out to get you, you need to stay strong and vulgar, insulting, this is the only way you can win.