• Latest
  • Trending
Hungary opposition wins Budapest mayoral race in blow for PM Orban

Hungary opposition wins Budapest mayoral race in blow for PM Orban

October 13, 2019

Winter Olympics live updates: Kaillie Humphries halfway to gold in monobob; US skier River Radamus just misses out on medal

February 13, 2022
Daughter of Kamila Valieva’s controversial coach dodges media questions at Beijing Olympics

Daughter of Kamila Valieva’s controversial coach dodges media questions at Beijing Olympics

February 13, 2022
Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor leaving legacy in bobsled greater than their many medals | Opinion

Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor leaving legacy in bobsled greater than their many medals | Opinion

February 13, 2022
Winter weather appears to have extinguished Olympic flame at 2022 Beijing Games

Winter weather appears to have extinguished Olympic flame at 2022 Beijing Games

February 13, 2022
Protests Swell in Canada’s Capital as Ontario Police Struggle to End Bridge Blockade

Protests Swell in Canada’s Capital as Ontario Police Struggle to End Bridge Blockade

February 13, 2022

Recent studies underscore the dangers of pregnancy complications for unvaccinated women with Covid.

February 13, 2022
Speedskater Erin Jackson makes whirlwind journey from inlines to ice to possible Olympic gold

Speedskater Erin Jackson makes whirlwind journey from inlines to ice to possible Olympic gold

February 13, 2022
College basketball winners and losers: Kentucky makes a case as a No. 1 seed, Arizona romps

College basketball winners and losers: Kentucky makes a case as a No. 1 seed, Arizona romps

February 13, 2022
Black Authors Shake Up Brazil’s Literary Scene

Black Authors Shake Up Brazil’s Literary Scene

February 13, 2022
U.S. Pulls Most Diplomats From Kyiv as Tensions Mount

U.S. Pulls Most Diplomats From Kyiv as Tensions Mount

February 12, 2022
In Phone Call, Biden Warns Putin of ‘Severe’ Costs of Invading Ukraine

In Phone Call, Biden Warns Putin of ‘Severe’ Costs of Invading Ukraine

February 12, 2022
Players union unimpressed with MLB’s new proposal; start of regular season in jeopardy

Players union unimpressed with MLB’s new proposal; start of regular season in jeopardy

February 12, 2022
Retail
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Subscription
Advertise
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Top News
  • World News
No Result
View All Result
Safak Haberim

Hungary opposition wins Budapest mayoral race in blow for PM Orban

October 13, 2019
in Europe
Hungary opposition wins Budapest mayoral race in blow for PM Orban

Hungary opposition wins Budapest mayoral race in blow for PM Orban

Issued on: 14/10/2019 – 01:03Modified: 14/10/2019 – 02:45

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Slovakian FM again rejects call for Lampedusa asylum seeker relocations

Britain & the EU: Fishing wars, vaccine rows as Brexit beds in

Load More
Gergely Karacsony, opposition parties' candidate delivers a statement after his victory after being elected Mayor of Budapest, defeating the ruling party incumbent Istvan Tarlos in Budapest, Hungary, October 13, 2019.
Gergely Karacsony, opposition parties' candidate delivers a statement after his victory after being elected Mayor of Budapest, defeating the ruling party incumbent Istvan Tarlos in Budapest, Hungary, October 13, 2019.

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Hungary's opposition scored a shock win in the Budapest mayoralty election Sunday, the first electoral blow for nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban since he came to power in 2010.

Advertising Read more <![CDATA[.a{fill:none;stroke:#9a9a9a;stroke-width:2px}]]>

The win was "historic" said the pro-European centre-left challenger Gergely Karacsony, 44, who was backed by a wide range of opposition parties from across the political spectrum.

The mild-mannered former political scientist led by 51 percent of the vote ahead of the incumbent Istvan Tarlos on around 44 percent, with 82 percent of votes counted.

In office since 2010, the 71-year-old Tarlos, backed by Orban's right-wing Fidesz party, congratulated the new mayor by phone, Karacsony told cheering supporters.

"We will take the city from the 20th century to the 21st," said the pro-EU Karacsony, who was one of the few opposition politicians to win a district in the last election five years ago.

"Budapest will be green and free, we will bring it back to Europe," he said.

Karacsony had compared the Budapest race to the Istanbul mayoral election in March, in which the candidate of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party was defeated by the opposition challenger.

"Istanbul voted against an aggressive illiberal power in many ways similar to Orban's regime," Karacsony told AFP before the vote.

Since 2010 Orban has reformed Hungary's institutions and concentrated power and media organs in his hands, and regularly clashed with Brussels over migration and rule-of-law issues.

He has also cruised to consecutive landslide victories at the polls, partly due to electoral rule changes he oversaw.

Fidesz had run a highly negative campaign attacking Karacsony for an allegedly pro-migration stance and his "unsuitability" for the job, while Orban had threatened to withhold cooperation from municipalities lost by his party.

But pre-vote favourite Tarlos and Fidesz, which brands itself as Christian-conservatve, were damaged by a sex scandal involving a Fidesz mayor in the western city of Gyor that erupted last week.

"We acknowledge this decision in Budapest, and stand ready to cooperate," Orban told supporters at a rally.

First crack

The elections were seen as a rare chance for the beleaguered opposition to roll back the power of Fidesz, who also hold a supermajority in parliament, and Orban who has boasted about building an "illiberal state".

Parties from left to right joined forces in an effort to wrest control of Fidesz-held municipalities and prevent an electoral rout for the first time in almost a decade.

In many municipalities just one opposition challenger lined up against Fidesz.

Polls had still forecast only slight gains nationwide for the opposition outside the captial, but in another surprise it won 10 of 23 of Hungary's main cities.

The vote was seen as a litmus test for its new strategy of cooperation, which could offer a route to mount a serious challenge to Orban at the next general election in 2022.

"The win (in Budapest) was just the first step on the road to changing Hungary," said Karacsony.

"It proves that the new strategy of opposition cooperation works, it was its best result in years," said Andras Biro-Nagy, an analyst with Policy Solutions.

"Budapest is the big prize, but the breakthrough in numerous provincial cities is at least as important," said Biro-Nagy.

"It is the first crack in the Orban system, and it seems guaranteed that the strategy will continue for 2022," he said.

(AFP)

ShareTweetPin

Related Posts

Europe

Slovakian FM again rejects call for Lampedusa asylum seeker relocations

June 11, 2021
Europe

Britain & the EU: Fishing wars, vaccine rows as Brexit beds in

June 11, 2021
Europe

G7 to distribute 1 billion Covid jabs globally by 2023, Johnson says

June 10, 2021
Europe

US to donate 500 million Pfizer vaccine doses, Biden says on Europe trip

June 10, 2021
Europe

Biden lands in UK with message for Johnson: Defuse post-Brexit tensions over N. Ireland

June 10, 2021
Europe

Russian court outlaws Navalny’s organisations as opposition leader vows not to ‘retreat’

June 9, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

Winter Olympics live updates: Kaillie Humphries halfway to gold in monobob; US skier River Radamus just misses out on medal

February 13, 2022
Daughter of Kamila Valieva’s controversial coach dodges media questions at Beijing Olympics

Daughter of Kamila Valieva’s controversial coach dodges media questions at Beijing Olympics

February 13, 2022
Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor leaving legacy in bobsled greater than their many medals | Opinion

Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor leaving legacy in bobsled greater than their many medals | Opinion

February 13, 2022
Safak Haberim

Safak Haberim News Agency is renowned for the analysis, perspective, opinion and insight that our journalism provides to a diverse and discerning audience. Every day the content we create – in print, online, in our apps and across many other platforms – is setting the news agenda, sparking debate and provoking comment.

  • About
  • advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2015-2021 Safak News Agency - Safak Haberim Online News SafakHaberim.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Top News
  • World News

© 2015-2021 Safak News Agency - Safak Haberim Online News SafakHaberim.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.