WJ
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Post by WJ on Feb 13, 2022 0:32:29 GMT
The campaign period for the 2022 general election (and the controversial child protection referendum) has begun, with polling day on the 3rd of April. Hungarians get two votes, one for a constituency candidate and one for a list candidate and seats are allocated via the D'Hondt method.
This election is one characterised by coalitions. Firstly, there is sitting PM, Viktor Orbán's ruling coalition of Fidesz and the KDNP (a Christian democrat outfit). Challenging Orbán is the United for Hungary coalition which takes in a rainbow of 6 parties from the far-right Jobbik to the Hungarian Socialist Party, Liberals and the Greens. At their head is Péter Márki-Zay, an Independent and until he was chosen as the head of the coalition, the mayor of an inconsequential town in the south east of the country. Beyond these two coalitions, there is a scattering of other minor, joke and fringe coalitions and candidates that will be lucky to scrape a couple of seats between them. Currently the rainbow coalition needs to take 48 seats to remove Orbán from power which is not out of the realms of possibility, although the polls are tending to show a stronger lead for Orbán in recent days.
Government sponsored attack ads have been plaguing social media and bus-stop advertisement boards since the autumn, when Márki-Zay was first elected to be head of the opposition, and Orbán is pulling out all the stops to keep himself in power. Measures include showering the voters with tax cuts and salary rises in recent months while also blowing the Trianon dogwhistle, promising to get tougher on immigration and Roma communities and railing against the EU. Coupled with that are the lingering doubts over the viability of a governing coalition that had such diametrically opposed parties as Jobbik and the Greens, and this, more than anything may make voters stick with the devil they know.
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Post by johnloony on Feb 13, 2022 11:21:07 GMT
A lot of the parties listed in the poll do not match the Wikipedia list of political parties in Hungary, so it is not at all clear which one matches up with which other one. Have a lot of them changed their name, or split, or merged? I would vote for any vaguely liberal centre-right party, as long as it is sound on LGB issues.
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maxque
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Post by maxque on Feb 13, 2022 16:07:32 GMT
A lot of the parties listed in the poll do not match the Wikipedia list of political parties in Hungary, so it is not at all clear which one matches up with which other one. Have a lot of them changed their name, or split, or merged? I would vote for any vaguely liberal centre-right party, as long as it is sound on LGB issues. Hungary (like most of Eastern Europe) has coalitions on the ballot, which are usually made of multiple parties. See here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Hungarian_parliamentary_election |
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YL
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Post by YL on Feb 13, 2022 16:34:51 GMT
I would support United for Hungary in spite of some unease about the breadth of the coalition.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2022 18:24:02 GMT
Shouldn't "elections" be in quotation marks?
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Post by Andrew_S on Feb 13, 2022 18:47:58 GMT
Shouldn't "elections" be in quotation marks? Has there been any evidence of fraud at previous elections? |
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jamie
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Post by jamie on Feb 13, 2022 22:43:38 GMT
Is Jobbik really far right these days? Their proper far right supporters officially bailed a while ago and for the best part of a decade the party has been on the journey towards being a vaguely respectable centre-right party. If they genuinely were still a proper far right outfit then why would they be teaming up with a bunch of liberals? (Nevermind why would the latter be accepting of them).
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john07
Labour & Co-operative
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Post by john07 on Feb 14, 2022 21:15:26 GMT
Is Jobbik really far right these days? Their proper far right supporters officially bailed a while ago and for the best part of a decade the party has been on the journey towards being a vaguely respectable centre-right party . If they genuinely were still a proper far right outfit then why would they been teaming up with a bunch of liberals? (Never-mind why would the latter be accepting them). No way would a political party called Jobbik do anything in Scotland. For obvious reasons! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2022 10:26:19 GMT
‘Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party.’
I had to look up that one.
I’d just be happy if Orban was kicked out of office, but I suppose that’s not likely(?)
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Post by Richard Cromwell on Feb 15, 2022 12:29:29 GMT
United for Hungary
I'd like to know a bit more about "the Solution Movement" but I suspect it's a vanity project.
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Feb 15, 2022 13:04:26 GMT
Shouldn't "elections" be in quotation marks? Has there been any evidence of fraud at previous elections? Yes there has been some. But there is an expectation this election could be competitive despite Orban's various built-in advantages. |
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WJ
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Post by WJ on Feb 15, 2022 14:14:26 GMT
Outright ballot stuffing is not likely to happen. Orban has managed to stack the cards against his opponents in more subtle ways though (like campaigning strategies) and making it harder for overseas voters to cast ballots.
I think is it likely that he will retain power, but with a much tighter majority.
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Post by 🏴☠️ Neath West 🏴☠️ on Feb 15, 2022 17:16:55 GMT
I'd vote for Orban. He annoys all of the right people.
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Post by london(ex)tory on Feb 16, 2022 21:37:35 GMT
I'd vote for Orban. He annoys all of the right people. I was already sold when WJ mentioned tax cuts but yes Orbán does have the added advantage of triggering a whole ragbag of snowflakes and leftists. |
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WJ
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Post by WJ on Feb 16, 2022 22:13:59 GMT
IIRC they've only gone back down to the level that they were at near the start of the current parliament, so it's a bit of a sneaky way of selling a tax cut. Same with the wage hikes.
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Feb 17, 2022 13:04:49 GMT
Can we move beyond this "at least Politician X triggers my opponents" mindset - please?
On both the left and right of the spectrum, some political figures are objectively bad people - and we should all be honest enough to say so.
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Feb 17, 2022 13:09:31 GMT
Can we move beyond this "at least Politician X triggers my opponents" mindset - please? On both the left and right of the spectrum, some political figures are objectively bad people - and we should all be honest enough to say so. Like you were about Corbyn ? |
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The Bishop
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Post by The Bishop on Feb 17, 2022 13:11:54 GMT
Well that is a matter of opinion - and had Corbyn as PM done the same stuff that Orban has to restrict democracy and freedom I would have quite happily and openly opposed him (as I would do with Maduro in Venezuela, for example)
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Toylyyev
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Post by Toylyyev on Feb 17, 2022 14:04:18 GMT
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Feb 18, 2022 7:52:13 GMT
WJ what's the Trianon drum-banging this time?
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