Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party and its allies have received the worst result in the European Parliament elections in two decades. According to preliminary results, the political force of pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has weakened its position, Politico reports.
According to the first results, Fidesz received 44.2% of the votes in the European Parliament, while the opposition, recently formed center-right party of Peter Magyar, Respect and Freedom (TISZA), came in second with 30%. The result of the opposition force is much higher than experts predicted. It is noted that such results will give Fidesz 11 seats in the European Parliament, and the opposition – seven.
Despite the results, Viktor Orban himself has already congratulated his party’s victory after the vote.
Over the past two decades, Fidesz has only once won less than 50% of the vote – in 2004. Back then, the political force won 47.4% of the vote. Compared to the previous European Parliament elections held in 2019, the ruling Hungarian party lost almost 8% and 2 seats.
Commenting on the preliminary election results, Orban’s former ally, 43-year-old Peter Magyar, told his supporters that the results of the vote mark “the end of an era.”
“We will see historical figures who will provide a very good basis for returning our homeland step by step, brick by brick, in the next parliamentary elections,” he said.
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union (Hungarian: Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség) is a Hungarian right-wing, national conservative party. It is one of the two largest political parties in Hungary. It was founded on March 30, 1988.