Hungary’s PM Orban Wins Third Straight Term
Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party, which won large majority in Sunday's parliamentary poll, mainly campaigned on anti-immigration platform
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is celebrating what he calls a "great victory" for Hungary after his anti-immigration Fidesz party won a large majority in Sunday's parliamentary election. With almost all the votes counted, Fidesz and its Christian Democrat allies are expected to wind up with 133 seats in the 199-seat parliament. The nationalist Jobbik party will finish with 26 seats, while the Socialists will control 20 seats. Orban will serve his third straight term as Hungary's prime minister and his fourth overall. "There is a big battle behind us. We have won a crucial victory, giving yourself a chance to defend Hungary," Orban told jubilant supporters late Sunday. Orban largely campaigned on an anti-immigrant anti-migration platform, warning that Muslim migration "is like a rust that slowly but surely would consume Hungary." He also accused the European Union of trying to take Hungary away from Hungarians and dilute European culture. Hungary has built border fences and passed laws aimed at keeping it from becoming a route for migrants heading into Western Europe from places such as Syria and Afghanistan. But the EU and United Nations expressed alarm and the anti-immigration tone of the election campaign. Although many Hungarian voters said they are concerned about migration, most said they are more interested in fighting corruption, poverty, and improving health care.