It became clear during Monday that the Fidesz party, which rules Hungary through its prime minister Viktor Orban, achieved another crushing victory in municipal elections held across the country. The most important result was in the capital Budapest where the Fidesz-friendly mayor Istvan Tarlos retained his seat as the party won the necessary majority. In fact the party seems to have taken 20 of the 23 mayoral jobs on offer in these elections. There is no sign of Orban’s party slipping in the popularity polls and the latest election serves to confirm Fidesz’s victories in European and parliamentary elections held earlier in the year.
Addressing parliament on Monday, Orban called this a ‘moment of grace’ and pledged to continue the program that was already underway. This includes using the state budget to fight unemployment, driving down utility prices and championing the cause of private borrowers enduring economic hardships after foreign currency mortgage loans became too expensive following the devaluation of the forint.
