Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party coasted to a clear victory in last weekend’s Hungarian election, as expected. The governing party got 45% of the vote, but the new “rules of the game” turned this plurality vote into two thirds of the seats in the parliament. A continuing two-thirds parliamentary majority allows Orbán to govern without constraint because he can change the constitution at will. But this constitution-making majority hangs by a thread. Orbán’s mandate to govern is clear because his party got more votes than any other single political bloc. What is not legitimate, however, is his two-thirds supermajority. Orbán was certainly not supported by two-thirds of Hungarians – nowhere close. In fact, a majority gave their votes to other parties. Orbán’s two-thirds victory was achieved through legal smoke and mirrors. Legal. But smoke and mirrors. (...) That said, Fidesz would probably have won a majority in parliament no matter what sort of electoral system Hungary had. Most mixed electoral systems like Hungary’s top up large pluralities into majorities. Also, many governments – if they can – attempt to shape the rules to aid their own reelection. Some tweaking of the electoral rules to favor the party in power is regrettable but normal. But the Orbán government went well beyond normal tinkering when it extensively revised the electoral framework during its last four years in office. The new system was designed precisely to give Orbán a vastly disproportionate two-thirds parliamentary majority with less than a majority vote. And it worked.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 09:28:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015