PM Orbán’s victory explained

Commentators agree that the fragmented opposition could only have defeated the incumbent government by uniting its forces, but that scenario was overly optimistic. Opinions diverge on the consequences.

In a bitter Népszava editorial, Róbert Friss admits that the outcome of the election ‘must be accepted’. Nevertheless, he warns the ’democratic side’ not to abandon its battle against those in power, for democracy can be extinguished within a few years ‘if it is not taken care of’.

At Magyar Idők, on the other hand, editor Ottó Gajdics is elated by the sight of Fidesz’s record 49 per cent share of the popular vote. The opposition, he explains, lost because its parties agree on nothing except in their shared hatred of PM Orbán and his party.

On Mandiner, Milán Constantinovits interprets the outcome of the election as proof that citizens feared the potential consequences of an opposition victory more than they feared keeping Mr Orbán in charge. The reason is that the way the PM framed the stakes in this election – national identity versus mass immigration imposed from abroad – was more convincing than the corruption charges levelled at the government by the opposition.

Tags: Orbán