Democracy Digest: Aftermath of Hungary Election

Marki-Zay blamed government propaganda on the dominant state-run media channels for the defeat of the opposition. Orban's ruling Fidesz party argued during the campaign that the opposition would send young Hungarians to die for Ukraine and this seemed to have a huge effect on mostly undecided voters.

Yet the biggest opposition parties are blaming Marki-Zay for alienating voters with his often-unguarded statements. Analysts also underline that the opposition's unity seemed only half-hearted and it was the former far-right party, Jobbik, which lost the most of its voters, many of them reluctant to follow the party's leadership in a coalition with leftists and liberal forces. Some of them found a new political home in the new far-right party, Our Homeland, which managed to secure almost 7 per cent of the vote and make it into parliament.

The first snap analyses also indicated that the opposition failed to convince voters in the countryside and, paradoxically, even people living in poverty and deprivation. Though clearly not belonging to the winners of the last 12 years of Fidesz rule, this group regarded Orban and his government as the better alternative. "We led an elitist campaign and we ignored social issues. We could not convince voters that living will be easier under another government," opposition politician Peter Ungar reflected on the defeat.

The election result also cements the notion that Hungary has become ideologically and culturally polarised between Budapest, where the opposition won all but two constituencies, and the countryside, which turned massively orange (the colour of Fidesz) again.

There is also a growing concern that the Orban-led government might not be defeatable in any democratic election due to the lack of a...