High opposition stakes at the EP election

A centrist political analyst believes that the European Parliamentary election is important primarily for the opposition parties.

The European Parliamentary election is more about Hungarian politics than the EU, Gábor Török comments in Heti Válasz. The centrist analyst believes that Fidesz is likely to score a landslide victory again, but the stakes for the opposition parties are high, nonetheless. The left-wing parties will run separately, the vote will thus indicate their relative strengths, and those that do better at the ballot will have more chance to increase their support ahead of the municipal elections next autumn, he suggests. The big test for the smaller three, Together 2014, the Democratic Coalition and LMP, is whether they can pass the 5 per cent threshold. If not, their voters may write them off. The ballot is also crucial for the Socialists, since party leader Attila Mesterházy’s position could well be undermined if the MSZP loses the number two place to Jobbik. If Jobbik does come second, it will be able to present itself as the main challenger to the centre-right governing coalition, Török concludes.

Tags: Democratic Coalition, elections, European Parliament, Fidesz, Jobbik, LMP, MSZP, Together 2014