Budapest – The far-right Jobbik party has made significant gains in rural areas in Hungary’s municipal elections, where it has become the main challenger to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party.
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Jobbik, led by Gabor Vona, won elections in 14 mostly smaller cities and towns on Sunday, while another six independent winners ran with the party’s support. In 2010, they won in only 3 cities.
While remaining far behind Fidesz, especially in Budapest, Jobbik is now second in all but one of Hungary’s 19 county assemblies, an important foundation looking ahead to the next national elections, set for April 2018.
Analyst Kornelia Magyar says that with the success they achieved all over the country, “Jobbik is now a party at the national level and they continue to have potential for growth.”