by Claudio Del Frate
It is the first country to go to the polls after the outbreak of war and the most proPutin. According to the polls, the president is trying to oust the opponent of the fourth term by a few percentage points
On Sunday in Hungary 9 million voters will vote for the renewal of the parliament. An appointment that is considered important for two reasons: On the one hand, Viktor Orbn tried with his sovereign coalition to get hold of the fourth reign. On the other hand, Hungary is the first European country to go to the polls since the start of the Ukraine war (it’s France’s turn next week). It is therefore a test for the entire EU taking place in the nation that has shown the most proPutinian stance on the entire continent.
The initial image appears to have changed this time compared to previous elections, where Orbn was slightly successful. The outgoing president leads a coalition in which the rightwing Fidesz party is magna pars. Unlike in the past, his opponents managed to join forces with a very heterogeneous cartel (consisting of six parties) led by Peter MarkiZay, mayor of a small southern Hungarian centre. The polls put Orbn slightly ahead: website political.eu gives him 50% of the vote (the same as it came out with in the 2018 vote), but with the united opposition taking it to 44. Marge Zovacs Research, identified by the Hungarian institute, puts the two sides at 41 to 39. Much will depend on voter turnout, the outcome of the small parties and the electoral mechanism, which in Hungary a country divided into many small constituencies holds 75% of the seats the dry majority forgives.
The leader of Budapest faces this new test without denying any of his nationalist, antiimmigrant and punitive policies towards minorities. It was not for nothing that he received confirmation from former US President Donald Trump via Twitter on March 15. In addition, the parliamentary vote will be accompanied by a referendum on the controversial LGBT law (absolute ban on talking about sexual orientation in schools), which has put Budapest on a collision course with Brussels.
But this time it’s also about the war between Russia and Ukraine, that is, at the gates of the Hungarian border. Of all the European leaders, Orbn was the one who most flouted the line agreed between the 27: he said no to the passage of weapons destined for Kyiv on his territory, he said no to the prolongation of gas sanctions. Not only that: the government has entrusted Russia’s Rusatom with the construction of two new nuclear reactors. In short, for Budapest it removes the hypothesis of breaking off relations with Moscow. Not our war we have nothing to win Orbn broke up in the last few days. His line suffered a heavy blow from Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On March 24, in a video conference with all EU leaders, the President of Ukraine thanked 26 of his interlocutors one after the other. Arriving on the twentyseventh, Viktor Orbn has indeed changed the tone: pick a side, there’s no more time to hesitate. For this reason, too, the vote on Sunday will be a test case for the entire EU policy towards the Kremlin.
April 1, 2022 (change April 2, 2022 | 00:04)
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