A first take of the EP elections

The first analyses following the elections for the European Parliament agree that the Socialist Party was the main loser of the day. The absolute majority of Fidesz was no surprise, given the low turnout, and Jobbik was expected by most observers to come in second. But the poor showing of the MSZP was a shock for left-wingers and a cause for much schadenfreude for the Right.

The official result of the EP elections, with just over 6000 votes cast at Hungarian Embassies abroad to be counted by Wednesday, is the following:

In its front page editorial, Népszabadság says it is now MSZP Chairman Attila Mesterházy’s turn to prove whether there is life after political death. It proved possible for Viktor Orbán after his two consecutive defeats in 2002 and 2006 and Ferenc Gyurcsány is back on his feet again after his downfall in 2009, when he had to resign as Prime Minister. Now Mesterházy will have to decide whether to throw in the towel or confront Gyurcsány for the leadership of the Left.
In his Magyar Nemzet editorial entitled “The fall of the MSZP”, Csaba Lukács writes that Mesterházy must have had a hard night after the elections, sensing Ferenc Gyurcsány so hard on his heels. (Magyar Nemzet goes to print relatively early and Lukács must have written his column before the announcement by Mesterházy that the MSZP Presidium as a whole would offer their resignation this week.) The right-wing commentator is convinced that after having almost caught up with the MSZP, Gyurcsány will claim a leading role within the Left.

Magyar Hírlap on the pro-government side and Népszava on the Left go to print even earlier than Magyar Nemzet, and run no commentaries about the result.

Tags: elections, European Parliament, Gyurcsány, Mesterházy