Hungary's main opposition party, Fidesz, has re-elected former Prime Minister Viktor Orban as its chairman for another year, despite the pro-Russian party's defeat by the center-right, pro-Western Tisza party in the April elections.
According to news agency MTI, at the party congress held on July 12, 729 out of 737 delegates voted to re-elect Orban, the only candidate standing.
Orban's political future was questioned after Fidesz's defeat, with some former loyalists calling for him to step down from politics — the first such criticism he has faced since taking power in 2010.
Speaking at the congress before the vote, Orban declared: 'I do not give up, I never, never, never give up.' He reiterated that he takes full responsibility for the party's election failure.
Orban, 62, acknowledged that Fidesz had been 'a great governing party' for 16 years, but said it needed to change to become an effective opposition party and ready to govern again.
During his tenure, Orban pursued an 'illiberal' democratic model, forged close ties with former U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and inspired right-wing conservatives across Europe and the U.S.
In the April 12 elections, Prime Minister Peter Magyar's Tisza party won a two-thirds majority in parliament, enough to reverse constitutional amendments under Orban that had weakened the judiciary, media, universities, and other institutions.
Since taking power in May, Prime Minister Magyar has pledged to amend the constitution to remove President Tamas Sulyok and other officials appointed by Orban. The new government also agreed to drop Orban's veto on Ukraine joining the European Union, allowing the accession process to proceed next week in Luxembourg.
In return, the EU announced it would release 16.4 billion euros ($19 billion) of the 18 billion euros ($21 billion) allocated to Hungary but frozen under Orban over issues of democracy, corruption, and treatment of the LGBTQ community.
According to opinion polls, Fidesz has been losing support since the election. A May survey by the Publicus Institute showed Tisza at 55% support, up from 53% in the election, while Fidesz support fell from 39% to 17%.
