Prime Minister Orbán began his brief victory speech following today’s local elections by thanking everyone who turned up at the polling stations and exercised every citizen’s democratic right to vote.
“This was a difficult election campaign,” PM Orbán said. “This was a big and open political battle – one that takes place in a democracy built on competing parties.” The elections have proven, he said, that the Fidesz-KDNP alliance remains the strongest political force in Hungary.
Reflecting on opposition candidate Gergely Karácsony’s victory over long-standing Budapest incumbent Mayor István Tarlós, the prime minister said that “while Budapest might have lost a mayor, I have gained an excellent advisor.” Today, he continued, the people of the capital have stated that they want “something new” and “we are open to cooperation.”
Sunday’s election, however, isn’t all about Budapest. Fidesz-KDNP candidates have been voted into office in 13 out of Hungary’s larger 23 cities with county rights. Fidesz-KDNP delegations will dominate all 19 county councils, while the majority of settlements in rural Hungary will be headed by the governing parties.
“For us, Hungary still comes first, but there has been another very important election victory today,” the PM said, adding that “the Polish governing party has won a majority and is able to form a government alone.”
In his farewell speech as mayor of Budapest, István Tarlós congratulated Karácsony on his election as the city’s new mayor. “This is Budapest’s decision today. Today Budapest voted for Gergely Karácsony. I congratulate him and wish him luck,” Tarlós said.