Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban Wins Third Term

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has secured a landslide victory despite corruption scandals threatening his chances of a clear win in Sunday’s election.

Commentators anticipated corruption and spying allegations would dent Orban’s chances of an easy victory, but hours after the polls closed, it became clear his right-wing populist party Fidesz was heading for a two-thirds majority win.

Critics now fear Orban, whose signature policy centers on anti-immigration, will have the power to make constitutional changes. He needs 133 of 199 seats to do so.

READ MORE: Hungary Prepares For Heated Election

Political scientist Dmytro Tuzhanskyi said that during his campaign Orban tried to vilify billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is pro open borders.

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“Orban’s team decided to change the focus of this campaign from Soros …[to] that Hungarians should decide whether they support real Hungary, strong Hungary and independent Hungary, or whether they will become immigrants in their own country,” he said.

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Despite Orban’s criticism of some EU policies, Hungary continues to receive funding from the European Union. With a key agreement to be signed in 2020, Tuzhanskyi believes the Prime Minister will seek a more constructive relationship with Brussels.

“One of the main expectations is that Orban will change his politics with Brussels and with his neighbors as well. It should be more constructive, because in 2020 [they] should be signing a new agreement with Brussels on [money-related] cooperation. So the big expectation is that from this moment, Orban should be more polite,” he said.

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Hromadske spoke to political scientist and expert on Ukrainian-Hungarian relations Dmytro Tuzhanskyi about what Orban’s win means for Hungary.

/By Natalie Vikhrov and Liuda Kornievych