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Nathan Schackow
University of Innsbruck
Nathan.Schackow@student.uibk.ac.at
Paper prepared for the
European Union Center of Excellence
&
European Union Studies Association
Ninth Annual Graduate Student Conference on the EU
"Brussels as Usual?: Politics and Policy in the EU"
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, February 28 - March 1, 2014
Abstract. The 2004 enlargement was hailed as a victory for the free market and democracy as
formerly communist Hungary was welcomed into the European Union. As it joined, Hungary
had a stable parliamentary government balanced by a strong constitutional court and president
for over a decade. Since that time, however, some observers have noticed that Hungary’s
executive leadership has gradually gained power at the expense of its legislature and judiciary:
Parliamentary election laws and procedures have recently been changed, the government has
tightened its grip on the court and the media, and on January 1, 2012 the constitution was
significantly amended. Taking the changing legal and political frameworks into account while
evaluating how parliamentary seats have been and will be allocated, in terms of their overall
percentage in parliament (either via the national lists, or in multi-seat or single-seat
constituencies), this paper seeks to determine if the recent reforms will have any long-term and
short-term impacts on the overall competitiveness of future elections. The findings indicate that
the electoral reforms would result in nearly an 8% reduction in the possible number of seats
assigned based on the national lists, meaning that a smaller number of seats could be awarded to
smaller and non-incumbent parties. This change, along with numerous others to be described in
detail, will not only make it more probable that current Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his
ruling Fidesz Party will remain in power after the next election in spring 2014: the effects of
these transformations will also have the potential to damage Hungary's democratic institutions—
and the European Union’s already suffering image as a stabilizing and democratizing force—
long beyond 2014. Implications for the European Union and its reactions to recent
developments in Hungary are discussed.
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
1
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The 2004 enlargement was hailed as a victory for the free market and democracy as
formerly communist Hungary was welcomed into the European Union. After ten years of
negotiations, Hungary had earned its membership in the EU by successfully fulfilling the
accession requirements, or Copenhagen criteria, as specified by the Treaty on European Union
in Articles 49 and 6(1) and the European Council in 1993. In addition to having the institutional
capacity to adopt the acquis and meeting specific economic criteria, candidate countries have to
satisfy all of the essential political criteria in order to become a member state. According to the
Presidency Conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council, “membership requires that the
candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law,
human rights and respect for and protection of minorities” (European Union, 1993). Having
satisfied the Copenhagen Criteria, Hungary and nine other Central and Eastern European
countries joined the EU on May 1, 2004, and Hungary, in particular, exhibited a stable
parliamentary government balanced by a strong constitutional court and president for over a
decade.
The foundation for the Hungarian government that was welcomed into the EU was laid
during the negotiations that took place within the context of Hungary’s transition to democracy
in 1989. At that time, the former communist-party dominated regime conceded many powers to
an opposition coalition of other parties, thus establishing a parliamentary form of government
balanced by a powerful constitutional court. “Both by design and by performance [Hungary’s
Constitutional Court] is probably
the most powerful constitutional
court in Eastern Europe, despite
some gaps and weaknesses”
(Schwartz, 2000, p. 75). However,
as early as 2004 Schiemann
observed that “Hungary’s
decade and a half of
parliamentary democracy has
witnessed the gradual
strengthening of executive
leadership and executive
power vis-à-vis the National
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
2
Assembly, or parliament” (p. 128). Since 2004, the balance between key actors and
among the branches of the Hungarian government has shifted more dramatically.
Recent results from Freedom House’s Nations in Transit 2013 survey, shown in the
table, reveal that Hungary’s democracy score has been steadily increasing since 2005. (The
higher the score, the lower the level of democratic progress.) There are three notes that must be
made about Hungary’s score with respect to the scores of other countries before we continue to
examine Hungary in more detail. First, “only countries engaged in EU integration have
experienced improvements since 2005” (Freedom House, 2013). Second, when considering the
countries that entered the EU during the 2004 and 2007 enlargements, “only the Czech Republic
and Latvia have improved since their accession” (Freedom House, 2013); and third, “Hungary
… has declined more than any other country” of all countries included in the Nations in Transit
survey during the period from 2005 to 2013 (Freedom House, 2013). The survey, which also
included many other countries such as Russia, Azerbaijan and the Ukraine, noted that, “Hungary
is close to falling out of the ‘Consolidated Democracies’ category” (Freedom House, 2013).
While the task of this paper is to focus on Hungary’s shifting electoral system, this cannot be
done without considering the overall political and systemic context, because Hungary’s
electoral system has recently been significantly altered by the ruling government, thereby
changing the institutional conditions that were originally intended to balance powers between
the executive, legislative and judiciary.
Before continuing to examine the electoral system and how it has recently been
changed, it is important to understand that, since 1990, the main constraints on ruling
governments have originated from the checks and balances that have taken place between the
executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Hungarian government and not by means of
opposition parties in parliament. It would be imprudent for any paper examining Hungary’s
electoral system to do so without bearing in mind that opposition parties typically (albeit with a
few rare exceptions) remain mostly powerless within the context of day-to-day procedures.
The marginal role that opposition plays within parliament has been observed by Kopecky and
Spirova, when they noted that “only 1.7 per cent of all legislation adopted since 1990 [until
2008] has been initiated by the opposition” (2008, p. 151) and that “the approval rate of
government bills during 1994-2006 has been at a stable average level of 91 percent of all
governmental proposals” (2008, p. 146). Therefore, maintaining the checks and balances
between the three the branches of government is absolutely critical and required to restrain
the powers of the ruling party or coalition, as it is typically the only way in which the
ruling government can be opposed, blocked or restricted from passing and implementing
their policies as they wish.
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
3
However, downplaying the importance of and ignoring the role of major political
parties in opposition would be a grave error for several reasons. First, opposition parties can
(and often do) suddenly win control of (or become a part of) government through Hungary’s
electoral process. Second, all governments since 1994 have been coalition governments with
the exception of the current government which was elected in 2010, opposition parties can and
often do suddenly find themselves leading or being included in a ruling coalition at any time.
Third, only one time since 1990 (in 2006) has a party ever retained power after a
parliamentary election. These three facts combined mean that even if the current government
continues to increase its monopoly on power, the major political parties outside of government
will not become irrelevant unless there are significant reasons to doubt the competitiveness of
future elections.
In the first part of this paper, Hungary’s relatively complex electoral system that was
created in 1990 will be described. Secondly, in order to more effectively put present day
events into context, an overview of various aspects of the Hungarian electoral system will be
provided, tracing the electoral system’s performance from 1990 until the last parliamentary
election which took place in 2010. The electoral system will be examined by discussing
historical voting behavior, the traditional lines of conflict in Hungarian politics, the major
political parties and some key figures, along with an overview analysis of the last
election in 2010. Next, the changes to the electoral system will be discussed in detail by
providing an analysis and comparison of how parliamentary seats have been allocated in past
elections and will be allocated in the upcoming elections. While doing so, this paper seeks to
determine if the recent reforms will have any long-term and short-term impacts on the overall
competitiveness of the next and future elections. Subsequently, the current government’s
justifications for making the changes and the European Union’s reactions to them will be
considered. Finally, there will be a discussion about the possible broader short-term and
long-term impacts that these changes could have on Hungary’s electoral system, the
European Union and its image.
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The Hungarian electoral system is complex and has been described as a
“segmented electoral system with a compensatory element” (Nohlen, 2000; in Körösenyi,
A., Fodor, G. & Dieringer, J., 2010, p. 381), and all elections since 1990 have been carried
out using this system. After the completion of the eighteenth year of one’s life, every
Hungarian citizen residing in Hungary is granted electoral rights. Citizens outside of
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
4
Hungary were also later given the right to vote at embassies abroad. Voting is not
compulsory.
Hungary’s parliamentary elections take place every four years. Hungary’s
parliament, also known as the Országgyűlés in Hungarian, is unicameral and consists of
386 seats. Every eligible voter has two votes: the first for a candidate (from each voter’s
corresponding single-seat constituency) and the second vote for a party list. 176
members are directly elected by an absolute majority voting system in 176 single-seat
constituencies, with one winner from each constituency representing his or her own
geographic area in which he or she resides.
Typically between 120 and 146 seats are filled by proportional representation
within 20 regional electoral districts (multi-seat constituencies) from which candidates
are elected from regional party lists (Körösenyi et al., 2010). Additionally, the 90 to 64
or more remaining seats (this number depends on how many seats were already assigned
from the regional lists) are filled from the national party lists.
The so-called “compensatory element” comes into play when the votes are tallied
for the regional and national party lists. When the regional electoral district votes are
tallied, a number (X) is calculated from a formula as the number of votes in a region that
is required to be won in order for a seat to be awarded to a party from their regional
party list (the names are chosen from the party lists in descending order). However,
there are remaining votes left over for the party lists in each region that were not used to
award seats. Any party lists in each regional district that did not get X number of votes
(in order to be awarded at least one seat) or those votes which are left over after
assigning more than one seat (after subtracting any multiple of X) will have their votes
left over to be pooled together and then tallied for the national party lists. Those
remaining votes from the entire country are then tallied up and seats are awarded based
on proportional representation from the national party lists using a different
mathematical formula. For the seats given based on a party list (from a region or
nationally), each party must secure at least 5% of the total vote to enter parliament (for a
coalition with 2 parties, 10% and for 3 or more 15% is required).
In the 2010 election and prior to it, the elections took place in two rounds. The
second round only dealt with the single-seat constituency elections. If a candidate won
an absolute majority of the votes in his or her constituency and voter turnout exceeded
50%, he or she would be declared the winner and no second round would take place. If
a runoff election were needed, the top three candidates and any additional candidates
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
5
who received at least 15% of the votes during the first round would enter the second
round election.
Körösenyi et al. (2010) have observed how this three-level electoral system works
to the benefit of some parties for several reasons: typically the single-seat constituency
system, along with the entry threshold, ensures a cumulative advantage for the victorious
party with respect to those seats which are awarded from the single-seat constituencies
(p. 382). Additionally, the multi-seat constituencies considerably favor the two parties
that receive the most votes, and normally the share of seats they are awarded is 5 to 10
percentage points higher than the share of the votes they received (p. 382). On the other
hand, the national lists ensure compensation for the smaller parties. But more
independent candidates have successfully reached parliament by means of combining
lists to form alliances, and while doing so, the electoral system has still nevertheless
worked to the advantage of the larger parties. This is because smaller parties have had
hardly any chance to win with their own candidates in the single-seat constituencies, and
instead, the larger parties have adopted candidates from the smaller parties as their own
(p. 383). Therefore, typically “the complex voting system has an entrenched multi-party
system which often makes it difficult for any single party to win a majority of the seats,
thereby necessitating coalition arrangements” (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2011, p. 9).
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Voter participation was relatively low in Hungary during the 1990s, and the 2002
election stands out from all of the other parliamentary elections in Hungary since 1990.
In the 2002 parliamentary elections, voter participation reached 73.5% in the second
round election (beyond the 70% average for Western European countries), and between
the first and second round elections over 100,000 Hungarians attended political rallies
(Körösenyi et al., 2010, p. 385). The unusually high voter turnout in the 2002 election
was consistent with one of the four of David Broughton’s institutional factors that affect
voter turnout: the election was perceived to be highly competitive and many Hungarian
voters had the impression that their votes were politically powerful enough to change the
overall outcome of the election (in Rosenberger & Seeber, 2008, p. 45). In 2002, the
Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) inched out a narrow victory over the Fidesz Party in
terms of overall votes.
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
6
Voter Turnout in the First and Second Round Parliamentary Elections
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
First Round
65.8%
68.9%
56.3%
70.5%
67.8%
64.4%
Second Round
45.4%
55.1%
57.0%
73.5%
64.4%
46.7%
Data combined from International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (2011),
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (2014) and Körösenyi et al. (2010).
However, in the subsequent elections in 2006 and 2010 (including both the first
and second round elections), voter participation dropped to below 70% once again.
Here it should be pointed out that one number clearly stands out on the table above: the
percentage of voter turnout for the 2010 election reached a very low 46.66%. This
abnormally low voter turnout percentage was from the second round election (which
was consistent with all data given on the table above). Turnout was in line with typical
voting behavior in the first round when 64.38% of Hungarians went to the polls (Inter-
Parliamentary Union 2011, 9). According to a poll conducted on April 16, 2010 by the
Forsense Institute between the first and second round elections, many first round voters
indicated that they were not sure about whether or not they should go to the polls again
for the second round because of a lack of strength in their voting preference (Pester
Lloyd, 2010).
A lack of strong preferences and identification with a particular political party is
nothing new to the political culture in Hungary. Weak party affiliations and a high
number of swing voters, along with a high number of voters who boycott elections, are
characteristic of the Hungarian electoral system. Additionally, Körösenyi et al. observed
that, up until the 2006 election, incumbent coalitions have always failed to win
reelection and the winning parties in each election have come from those parties in the
opposition, suggesting that a large number of voters are “negative voters” who typically
decide to vote for the “less evil” option at the time (2010, p. 385). Interestingly
enough, the only exception to this could have been the 2006 election in which the
incumbent coalition was not voted out of office, but Körösenyi et al. considered that
election not to be an endorsement of the ruling coalition at the time (The Hungarian
Socialist Party and the Alliance of Free Democrats), but rather as a protest vote against
Viktor Orbán (2010, p. 385). The tendency of Hungarian voters to switch their party
preferences and to cast protest votes against a party or an individual is not to be
underestimated.
Age, educational background and place of residence are the most important
determining socio-demographic factors, whereas religion and membership in the former
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
7
Communist Party are dominant cultural factors that affect voting behavior (Körösenyi
et al., 2010, p. 386). However, membership in the former Communist Party (because of
changing demographics) is of decreasing importance when it comes to influencing voter
preferences in Hungary. In 2003, Racz observed that “the formerly liberal Fidesz
ideology crystallized in the concept of ‘citizen’s bourgeois society’”, uniting “all
divergent elements of nationalism, Christianity and right-radicalism on the ‘positive
side’ and” resulting in “a sharp contrast to the ‘negative’ socialist–liberal forces which
represent ‘the evil past and prevent the evolution of bourgeois values in society’” (p.
751). This suggests that nationalism, religion and class could be additional factors that
influence the Hungarian electorate. (This is contrary to Körösenyi et al. (2010) who
argue that socio-economic status plays a negligible role.)
Another important trend that could play a defining role in upcoming Hungarian
elections is economic voting. Duch (2001) found that “the economic effects on support
for incumbents are asymmetric,” and that “the Hungarian evidence suggests that among
those with generally negative economic assessments, small differences in perception
have no significant influence on their vote” (906). Additionally, Duch discovered that in
transitional post-communist democracies, “expectations or hopes may be fairly high, and
unless clear improvements are seen, people do not respond positively to the economic
efforts of incumbent governments” (906). Lippényi, Maas & Jansen (2013) confirmed
the hypothesis that economic voting is a factor in Hungary, noting that it has “increased
over time”. Furthermore, Zubek & Goetz (2010) observed that the fiscal crisis of 2007-
2008 “reignited the domestic debates about the merits of the existing institutional
framework, including fiscal governance” (p. 5). With economic voting increasing and
recent economic and financial crises entering more frequently into political discourse in
Hungary, it can be concluded that understanding economic perceptions are becoming
increasingly important to explain Hungarian voting behavior.
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Understanding the political cleavages within Hungarian society is important to
comprehending how and why the political parties define and describe themselves the way
they do. Some common divisive factors that do not play an important role in Hungary are
language and ethnicity, because minorities only constitute 2-8% of the total population
(Körösenyi et al., 2010, p. 388). This has allowed other factors to play a greater role. Aside
from the factors previously mentioned (age, educational background, and religious beliefs),
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
8
there is also an urban and rural split, with most liberal and left-leaning voters living in or near
Budapest. Above all, however, the conflict between communists and anti-communists
remained the most important line of conflict in Hungarian political culture during the 2002
campaign, when the conservatives used anti-communist rhetoric to unify and mobilize their
base (Körösenyi et al., 2010, p. 388). This particular line of conflict also played a major
role in influencing the outcome of the 2010 election and may in the upcoming election as well.
For purposes of brevity and maintaining focus, this paper will only discuss those
political parties that have been politically dominant or otherwise relevant or noteworthy since
1990. The first election after the new regime came into existence was a victory for the MDF -
Hungarian Democratic Forum (Magyar Demokrata Fórum), which won the most votes with
24.7% percent of the total votes, running a campaign that appealed to Hungarian nationalism
and restrained privatization (European Election Database, 2010). The SZDSZ - Alliance for
Free Democrats (Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége), which came in second with 21.4% of the
vote, advocated a “more radical restructuring” (European Election Database, 2010).
From 1994 until 2006, the MSZP - Hungarian Socialist Party (Magyar Szocialista Párt)
was the party that won a relative majority (or plurality) of votes in each election, and the
MSZP became part of the ruling coalition after each of these elections, with the exception of
the 1998 election. The party is the successor of the former Hungarian Communist Workers'
Party (Magyar Kommunista Munkáspárt) which controlled Hungary from 1956 until 1989.
Since that time, the MSZP has denounced Marxism. However, being the successor
of the former ruling party has not resulted in a large transfer of party membership, as the
former Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party had over 1,000,000 members and the MSZP has
failed to reach 100,000 members. This party won most of its votes in the 1990s due to
nostalgic memories of the former times during the Kadar regime, and as part of the
opposition from 1998-2002 by criticizing the Orbán government for a lack of wealth and
public safety as well as Orbán’s attacks on the institutions of democracy (Körosenyi et al.,
2010, p. 394). In 2002, the party won enough votes to make its way back into government by
winning protest votes against Orbán and his party, Fidesz, and by appealing to voters with its
campaign advocating a “change in the social welfare system”. The following chart traces
support for the major parties in Hungary since 1990. It is important to note the drastic drop of
support for MSZP in the 2010 election
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
9
Overview of Hungarian Political Party Support from 1990 until 2010
(% Votes by Political Party)
Source: European Election Database,
www.nsd.uib.no/european_election_database/country/hungary/parliamentary_elections.html
From 1994 until 2010, Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union (Fidesz – Magyar Polgári
Szövetség) enjoyed a quick and steady increase in the percentage of votes, and in the elections
from 1998 until 2006, Fidesz came in a very close second place in terms of percent of the total
vote, on the heels of MSZP. In 1998, although the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) received
the most votes, Fidesz won the largest number of seats in parliament because of its victories in
the single-district constituencies. After the election, Fidesz formed a coalition government with
the Independent Smallholders Party and Hungarian Democratic Forum (which saw a huge
decline in support since winning the 1990 election). Since 1998, Fidesz has been the leading
party on the middle-right part of the spectrum in Hungarian politics and, under Viktor Orbán’s
leadership, it has moved further and further to the right. By 2002, it had nearly all of the
political right within the party. During the very close 2002 elections (which were previously
mentioned due to the unusually high voter turnout), the rhetoric of Fidesz became more and
more radical as hundreds of thousands of Hungarians came out to join street demonstrations.
2003 saw a return of Viktor Orbán as the leader of the Fidesz Party, which signaled the party’s
strategy to continue occupying the right end of the political spectrum in Hungarian politics and
to try and maintain a “new majority” that could win against leftist coalitions. As a part of the
party’s platform, “the new Fidesz policy also included cautious anti-West and anti-
globalization stances, while inviting and promoting multinational business enterprises in
the country,” and in order to promote the new campaign strategy, Fidesz tried “to
popularize the new ideology” by intensifying “relations with and financial support for
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
10
the ‘historical churches’” (Racz, 2003, p. 751). Racz (2003) added that, “the clergy was
more than willing to reciprocate” (p. 751). With these tactical moves, Fidesz more
clearly defined its platform and differentiated itself from the other parties.
In the 1998 election, the successful entrance into parliament with over 5% of the
vote by the extreme right-wing MIÉP - Hungarian Justice and Life Party (Magyar Igazság és
Élet Pártja) was also a major shock. The party was founded by Istvan Csurka, who openly
voices his anti-Semitism and believes that the Hungarian state should still contain parts of
what is now Slovakia, Serbia and Croatia that were lost in the Peace Treaty of Trianon in
1920. The party describes itself as a “radical national-conservatist” party (Barlai and
Hartleb, 2011, p. 82). Many supporters tend to be violent and extremists, and the party is
against communists, capitalists and the EU (Barlai and Hartleb, 2011, p. 82). From 2002
to 2006, MIÉP cooperated a great deal with the Orbán-led coalition government (Barlai
and Hartleb, 2011, p. 82).
From 2006 to 2010, the JOBBIK - Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik
Magyarországért Mozgalom) Party saw a large jump in support from well below the 5%
threshold to 16.7% of the total vote, which allowed them to win 47 seats in parliament
(European Election Database, 2010). The Jobbik is also a right-wing party that was founded in
2003, and it also won nearly 15 percent of the votes in the European Parliamentary elections in
June 2009 (European Election Database, 2010). During the party’s participation in the 2010
elections, it used anti-Roma and anti-Semitic rhetoric, and the party’s leader Gabor Vona said
that "Hungary belongs to the Hungarians". Both the FIDESZ-KDNP and MSZP refused to
enter into a coalition with Jobbik in 2010.
The 2010 election also saw the entry of another new party into the Hungarian
parliament, with the debut of the LMP or Politics Can Be Different (Lehet Más a Politika!),
which was awarded 16 seats in parliament for 7.48% of the vote earned in the first round of the
election (European Election Database, 2010). However, the party did not win in any of the
single-seat constituencies. The LMP was founded in 2009 and its party platform roughly
resembles that of the Green Party in many European countries. On the LMP’s website, the
main issues the party advocates are freedom of the media and the preservation of democratic
institutions, social inclusion, and party financing and anti-corruption among other issues
(2013).
As one might conclude from reading this brief overview of the political party landscape
in Hungary, the 2010 election revealed that the electorate might be shifting more of its support to
parties on the right end of the political spectrum, with the center-right party, Fidesz, winning the
last election with 52.7% of the total vote, and MIÉP and Jobbik joining forces to challenge it on
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
11
the far right. Together, Jobbik and MIÉP snagged 16.7% of the total votes. Altogether the
three major parties on the right won 69.4% of the votes, awarding them 310 out of the 386 seats
in parliament. Future elections may confirm or reject the existence of this underlying trend.
ML0&L-0N*%#;*O#%/')-)*38*2,0*DEHE*./012-3#!
During the 2010 campaign, the main opposition party, the Hungarian Civic Union
(Fidesz) and Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) led by Viktor Orbán, “actively
campaigned for a majority that would allow it to govern alone, suggesting that only strong
single party government could take the decisions needed to improve living standards” (Inter-
Parliamentary Union, 2011, p. 9). The Fidesz-KDNP campaigned using the slogan, "The
time has come!" ("Itt az ido!), and it pledged to create 1 million jobs during the next 10 years,
support small business and cut taxes (European Election Database, 2010). With living
standards and public services on the decline in Hungary, this platform swayed the
overwhelming majority of the voters, especially due to the fact that the unemployment rate
reached 11 percent in March 2010, just one month before the election (European Election
Database, 2010). After the second round of voting, Fidesz and KDNP had won 263 of the 386
seats in parliament, which not only allowed it to rule without forming a coalition, but also gave
it the two-thirds majority required to amend the Hungarian Constitution.
2010 Hungarian Parliamentary Election Results
Source: http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/hungary.html
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
12
The current government is considered by many observers to be the first non-coalition
government to rule Hungary since 1990. With more than 68.1% of the seats in parliament
(which were won with only 52.73% of the vote), Fidesz single-handedly dominates parliament.
However, it is important to note that officially, the current government is a coalition government
including the Christian Democratic People's Party (Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt,
KDNP). In reality, the KDNP is a satellite party of Fidesz, and prominent Fidesz members
have acknowledged that Fidesz does not consider the government to be a coalition government.
The MSZP came in a distant second place with 19.3% of the vote, only winning 15.3%
of the seats in parliament. Aside from the weak economy, the MSZP (in the ruling coalition with
SZDSZ) had its chances of winning the election destroyed due to a series of corruption
scandals involving its members and officials. “Socialist deputy chairman András Balogh told
Népszava in an interview that the party performed poorly at the elections because they made
mistakes while in government, abandoned left-wing values and became complacent, and
because of corruption” (“Gyurcsány’s new faction forms today”). The MSZP went from
winning 186 total seats in 2006 (with 43.21% of the vote) to holding only 59 seats after the 2010
election (European Election Database, 2010).
While Fidesz-KDNP was the big winner in the election and MSZP the big loser, there
were two other smaller winners in the 2010 election—namely, Jobbik and the LMP. Jobbik
came in third with 47 seats, allowing it to enter parliament for the first time after having
gained 14.5% of the vote from the previous election (European Election Database, 2010). The
LMP also made its way into parliament for the first time, earning 7.5% of the votes and 16
seats (European Election Database, 2010).
While the 2010 election stands out as the largest victory for a “single party”, (allowing
for the only non-coalition government in Hungary’s history since 1990 to be formed), several
aspects of the Hungarian electoral system and voting behavior have remained the same. First,
according to an article written in Pester Lloyd in January 2012, only about one quarter of
voters had a party preference in a poll conducted by “Polsters”. This indicates that in periods
between elections, the vast majority of voters still have no clear preference for a
particular party. Additionally, 10% of the voters for Fidesz originally planned to vote for
Jobbik instead, but changed their votes shortly before the first round of the 2010 election
(Pester Lloyd, April 16 2010). These two facts suggest that the Hungarian electorate has a
propensity to exhibit weak party affiliations and have a high number of swing voters, as
argued by Fabian 1999 (in Körösenyi et al., 2010, p. 385).
Second, the tendency of a high number of voters to boycott elections (Körösenyi et al.,
2010, p. 385) could possibly be used to explain the unusually low voter turnout during the
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
13
second round of the 2010 election. Another reason for this could have been, as noted by the
poll conducted by the Forsense Institute between the first and second round elections, that
many first-round voters indicated they were not sure about whether or not they should go to
the polls again for the second round because of a lack of strength in their voting preference
(Pester Lloyd, 2010). Both of these factors (boycotting and a lack of strong preference for a
particular party for many voters) played large roles in demobilizing Hungarian voters when
considering the second round of the 2010 election.
Third, Körösenyi et al. have observed that incumbent coalitions tend not to win
reelection and the winning parties in each election have a tendency to come from
those parties in the opposition, suggesting that a large number of voters are “negative
voters” who typically decide to vote for the “less evil” option at the time (2010, p. 385).
According to polling data after the last election, a stunning 84% of the Hungarian population
believed that the country was on the wrong path and, according to the Ipsos poll, the
incumbent government was given a rating of 15 out of 100 points, which was only one point
lower than the ratings for the opposition (Pester Lloyd, 2012). Furthermore, the Ipsos poll also
revealed that 57% of those polled named parties that they rejected and only 43% actually
preferred one party to the others (Pester Lloyd, 2012). These polling figures are signs that
the Hungarian voters are dissatisfied with the status quo and will probably continue to vote
for what seems like the lesser of all evils in the next election.
Fourth, the former communist party’s role is diminishing. Additionally, though the
MSZP has traditionally been one of the few parties in Hungary that maintained some degree of
party loyalty among the electorate, the corruption scandals that tainted the MSZP
prior to the 2010 election may have long-term consequences. Polls indicated that two-thirds
of the MSZP (socialist) voters were over 55 years old, and 90% of those who did vote for the
MSZP during the first round of the 2010 election admitted they had always preferred the
socialist party (Pester Lloyd, 2010).
Fifth, gender, age and level of education stood out as important indicating factors in the
2010 election. A poll conducted between the two rounds of elections in 2010 indicated
younger voters (24% of the total electorate in the first round election was under the age of 24)
tended to vote for either Jobbik or the brand new LMP (Pester Lloyd, April 16 2010). The poll
also discovered level of education was the most important factor that determined the party
choice of voters in this age group (Pester Lloyd, April 16 2010). The LMP had the highest
number of academics and college graduates of all parties, while two-thirds of Jobbik’s voters
were men. Jobbik’s voters tended to live in rural areas and were more likely to be jobless than
those voting for other parties. (Pester Lloyd, April 16 2010). These trends paint a picture of a
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
14
Hungarian electorate that is increasingly turning away from party affiliations (especially to the
old socialist party) and has a relatively high number voters who boycott elections, a large
number of swing voters who decide at the last minute and a large number of “negative voters”.
Finally, gender, age, the level of education and the urban-rural split are all key factors to
consider when analyzing the Hungarian electorate.
./0123&%/*4')205*7083&5)*
*
On January 1, 2012, Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party, with over a two-thirds
majority in parliament, were able to amend significant parts of the constitution to reform
parliamentary election procedures effective beginning with the next election (recently
scheduled for April 6, 2014). The changes are sweeping: the second-round elections were
abolished, the voter turnout requirements (in order for seats to be awarded in constituencies)
were suspended, the regional and national party lists were merged into one national list for all
of Hungary, the total number of seats in parliament was reduced to 199 (with 106 being
award from single-seat constituencies and 93 from party lists), the geographical boundaries
between the constituencies were redrawn, and so-called “minority lists” (which must also reach
the 5% threshold) and “minority spokesmen” were created. The minority spokesmen were
created for minority groups who are not able to reach the 5% threshold. These spokesmen
will be given the right to speak but not to vote in parliament. And last but most certainly not
least, citizens will only be allowed to vote in elections if they register more than 2 weeks
beforehand (either in person or via internet if the citizens have an electronic signature).
Furthermore, around three million members of the Hungarian minorities who live abroad in
Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine will be able to register by mail to take part in the next
election (Verseck, 2012).
The Fidesz government has proposed more than 18 other changes to the election code,
but on January 4, 2013, these changes were ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court
(Ritterband, 2013). The changes effectively create different groups of voters with different
rights. For example, Hungarian citizens who live inside Hungary would have one vote for a
party list and one vote for a candidate in his or her constituency based location of residence.
Hungarian citizens without residence in Hungary would only be allowed one vote for a party
list (and no vote for a constituency candidate where they last resided in Hungary).
Furthermore, Hungarian citizens with Hungarian residency who are members of minority group
would be required to be registered as a minority voter; they would receive one vote for a
candidate in their constituency and one vote for either a party list or a minority list. Another
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
15
law severely restricted campaign advertising and another forbade releasing polling results
more than six days before an election (Ritterband 2013).
The changes to the election code were not the only adjustments that were made. Other
changes include restricting the freedom of expression when it harms the broadly defined
"dignity of the Hungarian nation" (Verseck, 2013). University students will be forced to both
stay and work in Hungary for some time after finishing their education or they will have to pay
tuition fees – an attempt to prevent highly-educated workers and academics from leaving
Hungary (Verseck, 2013). “The reforms also write into the constitution certain laws that had
previously been overturned and deemed unconstitutional by the high court, making them
essentially untouchable,” including a “ban on the homeless from loitering in public spaces, and
allowance of the state to prosecute them for violations; a ban on electoral campaign advertising
in private media; and an exclusion of unmarried, childless or same-sex couples in the official
definition of family” (Verseck, 2013).
How Mandates Are Assigned in the Hungarian Parliament 1990 to 2010 vs. Future Elections
Average
(1990-2010)
Future Ele ctions
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
Single-seat constituencies (after second
round)
176
106
176
176
176
176
176
176
Multi-seat constituencies (regional
lists)
134,2
0
120
125
128
140
146
146
National
Lists
75,8
93
90
85
82
70
64
64
Total
Seats
386
199
386
386
386
386
386
386
By
Percentage
Single-seat constituencies (after second
round)
45,6
53,3
45,6
45,6
45,6
45,6
45,6
45,6
Multi-seat constituencies (regional
lists)
34,8
0,0
31,1
32,4
33,2
36,3
37,8
37,8
National
Lists
19,6
46,7
23,3
22,0
21,2
18,1
16,6
16,6
Sources for past mandates: Körösenyi et al. (2010) and the European Election Database
As shown in the table, the proposed change to assign 106 seats from single-seat
constituencies and to award 93 based on the party lists would result in a shift of nearly 8%
more of the total seats in parliament being granted to the winners in single-seat constituencies.
As already discussed, the elections in the single-seat constituencies typically are to the
advantage of the victorious party. The increasing trend of including small and independent
candidates as a part of an alliance with a larger party means that the ruling and winning party
would have even more of an advantage than in previous elections. A nearly 8% reduction of
the possible seats that are assigned based on the national lists would mean that a smaller
number of seats could be compensated and awarded to smaller parties via the national party
lists. In addition, it is important to keep in mind that the 93 seats awarded based on national
lists would also include the new voters who live outside of the physical borders of Hungary.
At first glace these changes may appear as if Fidesz, currently the largest and incumbent
party, is redesigning the electoral system in their favor for the upcoming election. It may,
however, be too simple to assume that these changes will inevitably work to their favor in the
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
16
future. A study of Hungarian MP voting behavior from 1994 to 2010 by Olivella & Tavits
entitled, “Legislative Effects of Electoral Mandates” concludes that:
If an MP’s mandate changes from PR [party list or proportional representation] to SMD
[single member district or single seat constituency], then that MP will become
significantly more independent in his or her voting behavior – a relationship that holds for
both types of PR used in Hungary, i.e., regardless of whether an MP’s previous mandate
came from the regional or national PR list. However, if an MP’s mandate changes from
SMD to PR – including either regional or national PR and regardless of whether the
mandate change results from a change in nomination or a change in electoral fortune –
then the legislative behavior of that MP does not change significantly. (2013, p. 16)
Therefore, when considering the current reforms to the electoral system, one might expect party
cohesion to weaken when nearly 8% more mandates have come from MPs being elected in
SMDs or single-seat constituencies. The rise of dissent from within the party could become a
new balancing and restraining factor to the party leadership.
On the other hand, however, without a reliable voting block of sustained dissent from
MPs within the ruling party or coalition, the 8% adjustment in the way that mandates are awarded
to MPs could have a substantial impact both on the next election as well as future parliamentary
elections. Additionally, the 8% adjustment alone cannot be considered without factoring in other
reforms to the electoral system. Another study more closely examines the changes to the
electoral system by taking more factors into account—namely, the newly gerrymandered single-
seat constituencies. The study, entitled, “Beyond Democracy – The Model of the New
Hungarian Parliamentary Electoral System”, used historical voting data from the general
parliamentary elections in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and found that:
In both 2002 and 2006, this system would have contradicted the majority will of voters at
that time, and would have led to a rightwing governmental majority. This is a result of the
growing influence of single-seat constituencies on the final outcome in the new system as
well as the transformation of the compensatory system. These have been redrawn in line
with the Fidesz-KDNP party alliance’s current political interests. (Szigetvári, Tordai &
Vető, 2011).
The authors point out that the changes will not only create a short-term advantage for the
incumbents, they will also have long-term implications on future elections. First, the study
deduces that “the new electoral system is a more majority-prone mixed system than the mixed
system in place over the past 20 years.” Second, Szigetvári et al. argue that, “the greater the
proportion of [single-seat constituency] mandates in a mixed system, the more majority-prone
character the system takes on” (2011, p. 12) and point out that:
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
17
there is no separate quota or group for compensatory mandates; instead, compensatory
votes are directly added to votes cast on national party lists. As a result, fragmentary votes
enter the race alongside party list votes. Previously there were a minimum of 58
compensatory mandates within the 210 party list mandates; no such limit exists in the
new version. (2011, p. 12)
Without a quota of compensatory mandates being awarded, national party lists will drown out
fragmentary and minority group votes. The third point is closely related to the last point.
Namely, Szigetvári et al. mention that the new system is one of “winners’ compensation”, in
which the 93 party list votes are much more likely to go to larger parties (2011, p. 12).
Of course, the changes to voter registration laws and votes from Hungarians outside of
Hungary must also not be overlooked as factors that could weigh in heavily to change future
elections. When considering the two facts that just over 1.16 million votes were cast in the
second round of the 2010 election and that more than 3 million Hungarians who now live outside
of the country are now eligible to register to vote in the next election, the demographics of the
electorate could turn out to be considerably different than those from previous elections.
70%12-3#)*23*2,0*./0123&%/*4')205*7083&5)*
Hungary’s parliament passed a new law on electoral procedures that introduced
questionable measures, most importantly a registration requirement that appeared to
impose an unnecessary burden on the right to vote. On 28 December, the Constitutional
Court invalidated the law on procedural grounds, but the substance of the changes was
still under review at year’s end. With the decision of the court still pending, Hungary’s
electoral process rating remains unchanged at 2.25. (Freedom House, 2014)
The opposition parties and other observers have argued that these laws would create a
decisive advantage for the ruling Fidesz party and its likely voters (Szigetvári et. al, 2011;
Ritterband 2013; Verseck 2012). The Socialist Party strongly criticized Orbán’s plans by
stating that the government “only takes into consideration the interests of the governing parties
when changing democratic institutions. They are excluding the majority of citizens from
shaping their future” (“Wall Street Journal Europe, 2012”). The Wall Street Journal reported
that a poll taken by Tarki pollster during July 2012, which was the time that Prime Minster
Orbán announced the electoral changes, indicated “more than 50% of Hungarian voters don’t
have a preferred political party and only a quarter has a distinct preference” (“Wall Street
Journal Europe, 2012”). The article also included comments from Political Capital, a
think tank, that reacted to the news by stating, “Fidesz thinks that by keeping undecided,
politically inactive voters away from the polling booths it can increase its chances at the next
elections” (“Wall Street Journal Europe, 2012”). Furthermore, the new electoral districts (for
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
18
the single-seat constituencies) are also highly controversial and “the unilateral manner in
which new borders were drawn by Fidesz party officials … has brought about accusations of
gerrymandering” (“Wall Street Journal Europe, 2012”).
On March 11, 2013 the Fidesz-dominated parliament successfully and easily amended
the constitution. As a result, according to the Economist:
Hungary’s Constitutional Court can no longer reject constitutional amendments on
matters of substance—only on procedural grounds. … The measures open the door for
the executive leadership to use the constitution to pass new laws that might otherwise be
rejected by the Constitutional Court. The process has already started. (“Viktor’s
Justice”, 2013)
When doing so, the Fidesz party effectively removed one of the only major restraints on the
executive leadership’s power in Hungary for the remainder of the current government and for
all future governments.
However, when José Manuel Barroso, President of the Commission, wrote to
Orbán on April 12, 2013, he only voiced his concerns about three issues: “ a tax on
Hungarian citizens to pay for fines imposed by the European Court of Justice; the
empowerment of an administrative body to transfer cases from one court to another; and a ban
on political advertising in privately-owned media” (Vogel, 2013). Changes related to electoral
system were not mentioned.
Although the Constitutional Court ruled that the electoral reforms are unconstitutional
in January, both the court’s ability (as mentioned above) and intention to counterbalance the
power of Orbán and the Fidesz Party in the future is now in question. According to the Neue
Zürcher Zeitung, more than half of the 15 justices currently in the Constitutional Court are
either from the Fidesz Party itself or associated with it (Ritterband 2013). The Guardian
reported that Thorbjørn Jagland, the Norwegian who heads the Council of Europe, reacted by
stating that he is “concerned about the compatibility of the constitutional amendments with the
principle of the rule of law” (Traynor, 2013). He continued on saying, “this gives the
impression that the government is willing to use the two-thirds parliamentary majority to
overrule the constitutional court, which might endanger the fundamental principle of checks and
balances in a democracy" (Traynor, 2013).
The Guardian newspaper received a copy of a letter written by Guido Westerwelle, the
German foreign minister, on behalf of Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland which
demanded “new powers to police the rule of law in EU member states” (Traynor, 2013). In the
letter he stated:
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
19
There are limits to our institutional arrangements when it comes to ensuring
compliance. A new, more effective mechanism to safeguard fundamental values in
member states is needed … The commission should have a stronger role here, allowed to
address deficits in a given country and require the country in question to remedy the
situation … as a last resort, the suspension of EU funding should be possible. (Traynor,
2013)
However, despite the harsh but futile criticisms from the opposition in Hungary, the
Hungarian Constitutional Court, the EU, and others both inside and outside of
Hungary, Orbán’s reforms – including those governing elections – were easily passed by
parliament and have gone into effect in time for the upcoming election this April.
P")2-8-1%2-3#)*83&*2,0*./0123&%/*4')205*7083&5*
*
On January 7, 2014, Minister of State Bence Rétvári held a press conference welcoming
the “cheaper and more transparent system” that “will come to be with halving the number of
parliamentary representatives and changing contrariety rules”. This would allow
“parliamentary work” to be “of a higher standard” and “with lowered expenses” it “would mean
lesser costs for citizens”. He continued on by stating:
As the Fundamental Law of Hungary states, no more than 200 representatives are
allowed to take seats in the newly assembling Hungarian Parliament. Coming from this,
voters of this year’s elections may send 199 members to the Parliament. … The current
strength of the Parliament is bigger than in most other member countries of the European
Union based on the proportion of representatives compared to the population. … There
has been an overwhelming agreement on a smaller House of Representatives, and yet no
decision was made. Socialists and liberals merely took it as a “popular pledge”, but they
did not care about the issue seriously and during their administration they allowed
mayors and municipality officials to take parliamentary seats. … No one can be a MP
now who bears an office as a mayor or a member of the municipality board. … Political
pluralism (meaning that one could get payment for being a parliamentary and
municipality representative as well as a mayor) has ended. … Representatives of the new
Parliament would be able to put more focus on parliamentary work, so MPs are going to
be professional … so as ends of specific professional groups will influence
parliamentary life to a lesser extent. … Around 50 per cent of the representative wages
can be saved this way plus with the transformation of the system of expenses, spending
is going to be cut. … Regarding party funding, the cost ceiling in campaign years has
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
20
been raised from one million to a five million HUF limit per candidates who were able
to get the necessary amount of support, also who reach the 2 per cent parliamentary
threshold won’t have to pay the sum back. (The Hungarian Government, 2014)
The focus of this statement is mostly on cutting costs and downsizing the waste of government
spending while also making a vague reference to reducing corruption. However, critics such as
Szigetvári et al. make a very convincing argument that it would have been “possible to create a
new system of single-seat constituencies in Hungary that would follow clearer principles,
without any sort of gerrymandering to overwrite the majority will of the people”. Their paper
proposes specific alternative models that could do so.
!"#$%&'()*<9135-#$*./012-3#*B*C,0*.<()*:5%$0**
On January 18, Hungarian President Janos Áder announced the next election day: April
6, 2014, meaning that the opponents of Orbán have a mere 10 weeks to campaign (“The
Economist”, 2014). Just 10 days before that, the major opposition parties finally joined forces
to try to take on Orbán’s government. Leaders from the Socialist Party (MSZP) and Together
2014 (E14) invited the Democratic Coalition (DK) and the Liberal Party led by Gabor Fodor (a
former PM) to run together against Fidesz, giving them all a tiny bit of hope that they will be
able to defeat Orbán and his new electoral system (Baumann, 2014). This time, however, each
candidate with a plurality or relative majority of votes in each single-seat constituency will win
(instead of requiring an absolute majority, with the possibility of two rounds). And many view
the coalition’s leader, Ferenc Gyurcsány of the Socialist Party, as a very provocative figure,
since a taped private conversation revealed that he and his party had lied to the Hungarian
people in order to get elected during the 2006 election (BBC News, 2006).
The tendency of the Hungarian electorate to vote incumbent governments out of office
is something of which Viktor Orbán is well aware; while he has claimed publicly that the
political system needs to be reformed to reduce corruption, the changes that the Prime Minister
and Fidesz have made to the electoral system and campaign laws threaten the competitiveness
of future elections in Hungary much more than they help fight and reduce corruption. The
nearly 8% of mandates in parliament that will be switched to be assigned from the Fidesz-
gerrymandered single-seat constituencies (instead of from the party lists) could prove to work
very much in Fidesz’s favor this April.
Only one government has ever fallen as the result of a vote of no confidence since
1990, party discipline and cohesion is high in the Hungarian parliament, and appealing to the
Constitutional Court would have normally been virtually the only means available for
opposition to challenge the government in any way (Kopecky and Spirova, 2008; Schiemann
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
21
2004). As such, Fidesz’s recent controversial amendments to Hungary’s Constitution and
proposed changes to the relationship that the court has with the executive leadership and
parliament have gravely damaged Hungary’s democratic institutions. Schiemann, when
describing the “chancellorisation“ of the prime minister‘s office in Hungary, noted that the
PM and cabinet can only be restrained in three ways: (1) many policy areas require two-third
majority votes to win, (2) the President can forward a law to the court before signing it (if he
questions it in any way), and (3) the opposition can appeal directly to the court after a law is
passed (2004). At present, options 1 and 2 are not viable because Fidesz controls more than
two-thirds of parliament and the current President, János Áder, is a member of Fidesz.
Furthermore, as stated in this paper, a majority of the judges who serve on the Constitutional
Court are either a part of Fidesz or associated with the party, meaning the court could be
expected to be highly sympathetic to Fidesz’s reforms well into the future. Additionally, a
Constitutional Court that can no longer reject constitutional amendments on matters of
substance—only on procedural grounds—would be extremely limited in its powers to face an
executive leadership with a strong two-thirds majority in the parliament.
A voice in favor of the recent reforms has been Máté Szabó, who was elected by the
Hungarian Parliament as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights in 2007. In a 2013
article entitled, “Viewpoint: Proceedings of the Constitutional Court and the Ombudsman’s
Activity: First Steps in Practice on the Basis of Regulation of the Basic Law” in the Romanian
Journal of Political Sciences, Szabó comments “on the constitutional challenges and novelties
experienced by this country, in particular on the relations between the Ombudsman and the
Constitutional Court” and “offers some justifications for the substantial changes introduced in
recent years, which have created considerable concern in Hungary and abroad” (p. 4). While
he seeks to make the case that recent reforms in his duties provide “quicker and more efficient
solutions, closer to the actual problems, and it may take the edge off the too frequent activities
of various international forums which sometimes seem to be trying to chip away at the very
legitimacy of Hungary’s constitutional system” (p. 20), he admits that the reforms were carried
out related to his duties because:
Over the course of some decades no uniform process was established to deal with the
thousands of petitions submitted or, at least, none was made public. However, in the
absence of such a process it can be concluded that before 1 April 2012, which was the
deadline for resubmission to the Ombudsman of past petitions, they disappeared from
the archives of the Constitutional Court. Oblivion, then, was their fate, as if they had
simply disappeared into Limbo. (p.7)
He concluded by stating the following:
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
22
From 1990 to 2011, Hungary changed least among the new democracies. We did not
even draft a new constitution. However, from 2010 to 2011 have brought about a
metamorphosis as the time has come for extremely rapid and substantial changes for
which the internal instruments for finding equilibrium have become more important
than ever before. The Basic Law has been the key: it has been strengthened and given
new functions – as exemplified by the office of the Ombudsman – more elected
officials have been appointed and the number of their civil servants has been increased,
for example the number of the Justices of the Constitutional Court has increased from
eleven to fifteen. (p. 20)
The ruling government appointed the new justices.
Apart from the potential for the Constitutional Court to restrict executive leadership, the
only other means to restrict it would be the Hungarian people’s right to remove it from office
via the electoral system every four years. The disloyal electorate could thrust the majority of its
support and “negative votes” behind any of the other options, including but not limited to the
far right-wing Jobbik, the liberal LMP or to Gyurcsány’s newly formed coalition. Barring the
Hungarian electorate’s tendency to have large numbers boycott elections (which would likely
create an advantage for Fidesz), past voting behavior in Hungary would predict that the
majority of Hungarians, if they are currently unhappy with the status quo (which may depend
on if voters perceive attribute a substantial improvement in economic conditions as a result of
the ruling government), would likely remove Fidesz from power in 2014. However, current
polls show that Fidesz has a strong lead over the opposition (“The Economist,” 2014).
Prime Minister Orbán has moved beyond consolidating political power within the
institutional constraints via Schiemann’s description of “chancellorisation”, and is rather
seeking to change the institutions so that they can no longer constrain him and his party’s grip
on power. This will not only affect Mr. Orbán should he remain in office, but future Hungarian
leaders until the constitution can be amended. Although it is highly unlikely at this point in
time, the Hungarian electorate or the European Union and the broader international community
could influence and possibly reverse the damage that has been done to Hungary’s democratic
institutions.
When a coalition government was formed in Austria in 2000—including Jörg Haider
from the Freedom Party of Austria, who actively courted the support of far right-wing Neo-
Nazi extremists—the other 14 members of the EU had no mechanisms in place to pressure or
force Austria to comply with its wishes to not allow Mr. Haider take part in the government.
For similar situations in the future, such measures were subsequently incorporated into the
Treaty of Nice (which, to date, have never been used). Article 7 states that the European
Schackow Hungary’s Changing Electoral System: Reform or Repression Inside the European Union?
23
Council can declare the existence of "a serious and persistent breach of fundamental rights",
and if this happens, “the Council may, by a qualified majority, suspend certain rights of the
country concerned” (EurActiv.com, 2006).
Article 7 reads:
On a reasoned proposal by one third of the Member States, by the European Parliament
or by the Commission, the Council, acting by a majority of four fifths of its members
after obtaining the assent of the European Parliament, may determine that there is a clear
risk of a serious breach by a Member State of principles mentioned in Article 6(1), and
address appropriate recommendations to that State. (European Union, 2001)
As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, Article 6(1) states that, "the Union is founded on
the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States" (European Union, 1993).
Mr. Orbán, on the other hand, has expressed that he feels no need to comply with the EU’s
wishes by retorting that, “the countries of central and eastern Europe should make their own
policies without looking to the EU. We do not have to listen to everything the bureaucrats in
Brussels say" (Traynor, 2013).
With the hurdles set rather high in Article 7 in the Treaty of Nice, the EU might be
forced not only to become accustomed to dealing with an increasingly authoritarian state within
its borders, but also being in a single market and innumerable negotiations with it. Therefore,
the recent efforts and ambitions of Orbán and Fidesz to remain in power could not only do
lasting damage to Hungary’s electoral system and democratic institutions, but this damage
could last long beyond the next election and have profound consequences that will extend not
only from Budapest to Brussels but well beyond. Discussions about the European Union’s
democratic deficit would pale in comparison with those about a deficient democracy—Hungary
—inside of the EU. Not only could it create a crisis within the EU institutions itself, but it
could also destabilize the region surrounding Hungary and erode the EU’s soft power abroad.
24/21
7080&0#10)***
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Staaten.Wiesbaden: VS Verl. f r Sozialwiss. (413-428).
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Baumann, M. (2014). Wahlen in Ungarn: späte einigung der linksliberalen opposition -
auslandnachrichten nachrichten - nzz.ch. [online] Retrieved from:
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