Hungary’s Opposition Embarks on Difficult Journey to Bridge Urban-Rural Divide

"I was a village boy, coming from the heartland, where people worked and struggled to survive. Like my parents. And it is here where I learnt to love and appreciate this land," he declared in a somewhat amateurish Facebook video.

Karacsony was raised in Nyirtass, where his parents worked on the local state farm as horticultural engineers. He was barely six years old when he lost his father in a car accident, leaving his mother to bring up four children alone. He moved to Budapest only at the age of 20 to continue his university studies.

This is actually a strikingly similar trajectory to the country's prime minister, who was also raised in a small village and came to Budapest as a university student. But in contrast to Karacsony, whose modest roots were largely unknown to the public, Orban has skilfully cultivated an image as a "man from the countryside" since 1994: the way he talks, acts, drinks palinka (a strong Hungarian fruit spirit) with the locals, and takes part in traditional food festivals in provincial Hungary all burnish the idea of a person whom villagers feel is a kindred spirit. But behind this down-to-earth narrative and man-of-the-people personality lies a network meticulously constructed over the last two decades that has left Fidesz as the only party in town in many areas.

The opposition must now face the consequences of the many years it politically neglected such rural areas, which has put them in an almost hopeless situation in some places.

Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karacsony (C), candidate of most of the opposition parties, speaks during the parties' event after the nationwide local elections in Budapest, Hungary, 13 October 2019. EPA-EFE/Zoltan Balogh 3 million villagers can't be ignored