Forming a majority from a majority
The parliamentary elections in Hungary, 2018
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In Hungary, the Fidesz-KDNP alliance won the parliamentary elections for the third time in April 2018. Viktor Orbán’s party was particularly successful in the rural regions, with the opposition parties having weakened their own position through their inability to reach agreement. International observers reported incidents of misuse of administrative resources by the government during the election campaign, with the government blurring the boundary between state and party. Certain features of the electoral system make it easier for any single party to gain a majority. These were further consolidated by Fidesz-KDNP in 2014, thus enabling the Orbán government to gain a two-thirds majority in parliament. In the eyes of the government, it has now been empowered to continue in its pursuit of such anti-pluralist policies.
(Osteuropa 3-5/2018, pp. 215–228)