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Hungary: Right-wing Fidesz party Prime Minister Viktor Orban wins election with socialist-led coalition in second place

Conservatives cruise to easy victory in Hungarian general election as left struggles to recover from 2010 poll abyss

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party won parliamentary elections on Sunday and secured a two-thirds majority with his Christian Democrat allies.

With over 98 per cent of the votes counted, election officials said that Fidesz had won 133 of the 199 seats.

Fidesz and the Christian Democrats received 44.5 per cent of the list votes, providing 37 seats, and also won 96 of the 106 individual constituencies.

“Every doubt and uncertainty has dissipated. We have won,” Mr Orban told cheering supporters after securing a third term.

“Hungary again is a place where it is worth living, working and starting a family. We have declared that we are not turning back.”

A coalition of left-wing groups led by the Socialist Party took 38 seats with 26 per cent of the list votes, plus the 10 remaining constituencies.

But the neofascist Jobbik party ominously secured 23 seats with 20.6 per cent of the list votes — nearly four percentage points more than in 2010.

The green Politics Can Be Different party got 5.3 per cent and five seats.

Jobbik’s advance, however, was quickly denounced by Jewish leaders.

“The gains made by Jobbik, an unashamedly neonazi political party, should serve as a wake-up call for the whole of Europe,” European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor said.

“This is truly a dark day for Hungary.”

Mr Kantor said Jobbik’s success gave other far-right parties across Europe “a strong tailwind going into next month’s European Parliament elections.”

Mr Orban, who has frequently clashed with the European Union over his government’s weakening of democratic checks and balances, said the election results proved that Hungary belonged in the bloc.

“Hungarians have confirmed that Hungary’s place is in the European Union, but only if it has a strong national government,” Mr Orban claimed.

Fidesz and the Christian Democrats also won a two-thirds majority in the 2010 election, allowing them to pass legislation unchallenged.

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