In Hungary, ‘Orban King but Not Kingmaker’

Hungary's ruling Fidesz party notched the best result of any eurosceptic party contesting the European Parliament elections, nabbing 52.3 per cent of the vote to win 13 seats.

Turnout was healthy at 43.36 per cent.

While the victory for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist-populist party came as no surprise, analysts said Fidesz would now need to wrestle with the question of whether to repair relations with the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) — which suspended Fidesz in March over rule-of-law concerns — or to forge a new alliance with right-wing populists who topped the vote in France and Italy.

Here are some expert reactions to the EU election results in Hungary.

Dániel Bartha, Director of the Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy, an independent think tank in Budapest

"The election results show that Orban can be a king in Hungary, but cannot be a kingmaker in the EU. Fidesz delivered the minimum, since expectations were somewhat higher. But Orban's dominance in Hungary is unquestionable. The opposition cannot offer an alternative. The positions inside the opposition have been reshuffled now.

"In the European arena, however, right-wing radicals have not strengthened as much as expected. Many voters in Western Europe have been successfully mobilised against the radical right. The high turnout all over Europe benefited the Greens and the Liberals. As a consequence, there will be a number of alternatives to form functioning coalitions in the European Parliament. The crisis anticipated by Orban has not materialised.

"The big question is the relationship between Fidesz and the European People's Party. It seems that Orban does not have a place any more in the EPP. The...

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