elections

There are so many question marks around the revenues coming from the careful obtaining of political information, that the voters will probably decide that it is not even worth it. And that they would rather go to a pub. From the economic point of view, it is an absolutely logical thing.

The election night is always magical. It is a beautiful moment when we may spot all shades of human emotions, starting with joy and celebration, ending with consternation, sadness or even total disillusionment. Saturday’s elections in Slovakia were quite special in this respect.

The Greeks have voted and widely approved the course of Alexis Tsipras and his SYRIZA-party (35,5%, -0,8). It is noteworthy that the decision for the left-wing alliance reveals that the Greek voters predominantly want to stick to traditional values and their societal structures, rather than giving a chance to reform-orientated powers.

European politics will surely highlight one of the days in their calendar the next week, to check the results of the elections and eventually relax again. Up to this, the EU has to, as every five years, await the sleeping volcano, which in event of its explosion, may cover the EU with darkness.

Zoltán Kész’s victory shattered the two third majority of governing party Fidesz in the parliament. Using this supermajority, the government has implemented a new constitution and new laws curtailing the freedom of speech, human rights and the power of the constitutional court since 2010. Hungary has also become fearfully friendly with Russia regardless of the growing tensions between the EU and Putin.

Fidesz got so detached from reality and from its voters that the government can no longer assess how far it can go. Fidesz\'s attempt to tax the Internet was the last straw.

Having seen a troubled accession period to the EU, Macedonia looks at though it might be swinging further towards ethnic nationalism and authoritarianism.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orbán won his second consecutive term in a landside election last month. The governing Fidesz party managed to retain its absolute majority as the result of arguable new election laws and a highly inept opposition. Even more disturbingly Hungary’s infamous far-right Jobbik emerged as the second biggest party in the country.

The joint event of the Hungarian Free Market Foundation and Political Capital was searching for answers to the ever present questions such as: what is the program of the far-right, how certain far right groups in Europe differ, should the media give these parties a voice, what effective counter strategies exist and is it possible that these parties form a partnership in the EU parliament.

Using the official election results and its own reasearch Republikon Instutite analyzed the results of the Hungarian national elections in 2014. In this article the most important findings are summed up regarding the turnout and the impact of the different elements of the new election system.