The Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Jobbik both had their respective rendez-vous with destiny on Sunday night. At the same time, former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány’s Democratic Coalition (DK) and the fledgling Momentum party, both underestimated in opinion polls, caused much surprise by their strong showing in European Parliament elections in Hungary.
The results were as follows, with turn-out at 43.37%:
- Fidesz-KDNP: 52.44% (13 seats)
- Democratic Coalition: 16.15% (4 seats)
- Momentum: 9.87% (2 seats)
- Hungarian Socialist Party: 6.65% (1 seat)
- Jobbik: 6.39% (1 seat)
- Mi Hazánk: 3.31% (0 seats)
- Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party: 2.61% (0 seats)
- Politics Can Be Different (LMP): 2.17% (0 seats)
- Munkáspárt – Workers’ Party: 0.42% (0 seats)
The Democratic Coalition, in particular, ran a campaign with an unambiguous, simple message and was represented not by Mr. Gyurcsány, still something of a political bogeyman in Fidesz and some opposition circles, but by his accomplished wife, Klára Dobrev. And the message was clear: DK stands for a federal, closely integrated European Union, which the party mostly referred to as the United States of Europe. In concrete terms, that means coordinated European action on a number of bread and butter issues across all states: action against child poverty, an EU-wide minimum pension, an EU minimum wage, a new EU tax on multinational corporations and EU funds for affordable housing. Amidst all these social solidarity ideas, DK was most explicit in positioning itself in direct opposition to the rising far-right in Europe, mentioning by name the likes of Viktor Orbán, Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini.
Klára Dobrev (left) and Ferenc Gyurcsány (right) cast their ballots on Sunday, with their children.
In this election campaign, DK maintained its hard-line anti-Orbán regime stance, continuing to be the party least ready to compromise with the system, but added to its platform some centre-left economic policies. Prior to this, DK seemed more like a socially liberal, but economically neo-liberal formation. Today, it is clearly positioning itself to serve as the country’s leading centre-left force.
The Hungarian Socialist Party, meanwhile, was left in the dust, with its worst electoral performance in the past 30 years. While MSZP won three national elections since Hungary’s transition to democracy, the Socialists may have lost for good their status as a viable alternative and as a potential governing party. Even in Budapest, MSZP-Párbeszéd garnered only 9% of the vote, finishing far behind DK, which received 20% and even Momentum at 17%. It is exceedingly difficult to see how MSZP will recover and its alliance with the small, but youthful Párbeszéd party, one of their only hopes of breathing life into an ageing and tired group, is over. This is a terrible position to be in merely five months before the politically far more important local and regional elections in October 2019.
Momentum stole some of the youthful appeal of Párbeszéd and in some ways spoke to a similar voting base: well-educated, younger urbanites, some supporters of the alternative left, and others simply ill at ease with the “traditional” left-centre politicians of MSZP and DK. Momentum’s surprisingly strong showing echoes the shock that Jobbik sent through the Hungarian establishment in the 2009 EP elections, when its support was about three times higher than what pollsters had predicted.
On Sunday, however, Jobbik was taken down many notches. Its attempt to redefine itself as a more centrist political force had failed and it bled away far-right votes to both Fidesz and to the fledgling Mi Hazánk party. Jobbik was never truly credible as a bona fide moderate political formation and the other opposition parties were tortured by the prospect of having to collaborate with a group that billed itself as the leading opposition voice. The torturous debates around cooperation with Jobbik are over. Equally reassuring to those on the opposition is the demise of Politics Can Be Different (LMP)–the once promising green party, committed to doing everything differently than the old elites. Unfortunately, people believed by many to be secretly in the pay of Fidesz, perhaps most notably the deeply problematic Péter Ungár, sealed LMP’s fate. The party’s leadership has resigned and it’s quite likely that LMP has reached the end of its political road.
It must be mentioned that despite the rise of DK and Momentum, and even though Fidesz did not manage to mobilize its voting base to the point of reaching an overall turn-out of between 45% and 50%, which had reportedly been the governing party’s goal, these EP results are not promising for the opposition. What we see is a realignment within the opposition and former MSZP supporters abandoning their party for DK, rather than many new voters being attracted or activated. The results seen Sunday night are not ones that foreshadow the beginning of a potential regime change in Hungary.
Klára Dobrev may just be the woman who will finally lead Hungarians out of the corrupt, dillusional dead end that Viktor Orbán took this long suffering country after he graduated from the Arthur J. Finkelstein school of political deception. Dobrev is a rare Hungarian politician. She has two feet on the ground. She can communicate in rational as well as emotional terms (something Hungary’s liberals, in spite of David Hume’s teachings, have never managed to master in their haughty intellectual disdain for the Common People.) She is a woman with soul, intellect and a backbone. She has an unbending commitment to the principles of justice, the rule of law and sustainable economic development. But what is most inspiring about her is her commitment to the Aristotelian principle – truth matters. With her at the helm, the first rays of justice have returned to the land of the Magyars, hope has re-entered Hungarian public life. May she prevail.
It seems that Mr. Orban and his party are supported by the people. Fidesz is the only EU party that received 50+ percentage of vote.
The democratic coalition cannot brag about 16+%, that is a large loss.
The people of Hungary are not disillusioned and Dobrev will fade with her socialist ideas.
The Hungarian government is not corrupt, saying it without proof and wishing it will not make it so.
Given that elections in Hungary do not take place on a level playing field (see objective studies by OSCE, and hundreds of other evaluations by EU observers, academics from Hungary and around the world), the results of Sunday’s Fidesz “victory” are not surprising. It is but a reflection of the unfair political competition that is the reality of political life under Orbán’s autocracy. Martaburka is a nameless troll, without any credentials. She comes here to utter false information by hiding behind a false identity. She is a stooll pigeon. I prefer to call her Márta Hurka. She can stuff it 🙂 Orbán will fall. We shall overcome !!!
“Unfair political competition”. Any more unfair than how the likes of AFD are treated in the German and Western media?
Whatever Orban may come up with in the few coming years, his days are numbered.
As I expressed not just my views on KMH, but that as most political analysts do clearly see is, in the Europe-wide political movement,that the two-party system is on the way.
What may be the names of that two party is up for grab.
One will most likely be a more nationalistic-conservative like parry.
While the other side, a more liberal , progressive and pragmatic party.
Dobrev Klara is young, smart, pragmatic and not too dogmatic. Also she has ambitions.
And she has no negative political baggage , as of yet, like her husband.
Likely, like her mother Piroska has always been a cleaver and capable person.
The future belong to the young, able, ambitious and logical thinkers. Those that plan for the future, not to those that only want to cry back the past !
The age of social dogmas has gone !!!!!
Wipe your tears Gollner !
The next decade will prove or disprove my views.
@ Bendy Goose
“Wipe your tears Gollner !”
What are you talking about bendy ? Did the Gulf stream blow you off course? Instead of crying, I’m rejoicing that qwaks like you are being blown out of the water. I worked 5 years with Klára Dobrev in Hungary, while you were beachcombing your feathers in Florida, and your colleagues on the troll farms took my association with the then head of Hungary’s Office of Economic Development as evidence that I was an agent of Ferenc Gyurcsány. Make my day, bendy, post onto the walls of this underpass that “incriminating” photo of me sitting next to Madame Dobrev at a conference I organized in Budapest before Orbán came to power. You’re all a bunch of losers, troll.
Bendy ! I suggest you read that bestseller, Antlers in the Treetops, by Hugoosda Moose, and come back to me with another tall tale that will make me laugh at you again. 🙂
“Mi Hazánk: 3.31% (0 seats)”
This means that 3.31% of Hungary wants to throw the Jew down the well. Turanian Greetings from Glorious Nation Kazakhstan to Orban Hungary. I will see you all at next Great Kurultáj!