Fidesz in the context of "Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Fidesz

Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance ([ˈfidɛs]; Hungarian: Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség [ˈfidɛs ˈmɒɟɒr ˈpolɡaːri ˈsøvɛt͡ʃːeːɡ]) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal.

Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats (Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége) as a centre-left and liberal activist movement that opposed the ruling Marxist–Leninist government, it was registered as a political party in 1990, with Orbán as its leader. It entered the National Assembly following the 1990 parliamentary election. Following the 1998 election, it successfully formed a centre-right government. It adopted nationalism in the early 2000s, but its popularity declined due to corruption scandals. It was in opposition between 2002 and 2010, and in 2006 it formed a coalition with the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP).

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In this Dossier

Fidesz in the context of Politics of Hungary

The politics of Hungary take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The prime minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the president is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position. As of 2024, The country is considered "no longer a full democracy" by the EU, and is generally said to have democratically backslid since 2010 when the Fidesz–KDNP Party Alliance led by Viktor Orbán won a two-third parliamentary supermajority and adopted a new constitution of Hungary that have both remained in place since.

Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The party system since the last elections has been dominated by the conservative Fidesz. The three larger oppositions are Democratic Coalition (DK), Momentum and Jobbik; there are also opposition parties with a small fraction in parliament (e.g. Politics Can Be Different). The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

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Fidesz in the context of Conservative nationalism

National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that prioritizes the defense of national and cultural identity, often based on a theory of the family as a model for the state. It is oriented towards upholding national sovereignty, which includes opposing illegal immigration or immigration per se and having a strong military. National conservatism departs from economic liberalism and libertarianism and takes a more pragmatic approach to regulatory economics and protectionism. It opposes the basic precepts of enlightenment liberalism such as individualism and the universality of human rights, and in America and Europe is majoritarian populist. National-conservative parties often have roots in rural environments, contrasting with the more urban support base of liberal-conservative parties.

In Europe, national conservatives usually embrace some form of Euroscepticism. In post-communist central and eastern Europe specifically, most conservative parties since 1989 have followed a national conservative ideology. Most notable is Viktor Orbán in Hungary, who has explicitly described his Fidesz's ideology as being national conservative in character and whose government is involved in the funding and spread of national conservative institutions across Europe and the United States, such as the Danube Institute, the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, The European Conservative magazine and the National Conservatism Conference. In the United States, Trumpism can be considered a variety of national conservatism, which also gives its name to the National Conservatism Conference, organised by the Edmund Burke Foundation.

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Fidesz in the context of Prime Minister of Hungary

The prime minister of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország miniszterelnöke) is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The current holder of the office is Viktor Orbán, leader of the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance, who has served since 29 May 2010.

According to the Hungarian Constitution, the prime minister is nominated by the president of Hungary and formally elected by the National Assembly. Constitutionally, the president is required to nominate the leader of the political party that wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly as prime minister. If there is no party with a majority, the president holds an audience with the leaders of all parties represented in the assembly and nominates the person who is most likely to command a majority in the assembly, who is then formally elected by a simple majority of the assembly. In practice, when this situation occurs, the prime minister is the leader of the party winning a plurality of votes in the election, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition.

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Fidesz in the context of Fidesz–KDNP Party Alliance

Fidesz–KDNP Party Alliance (Hungarian: Fidesz–KDNP pártszövetség), formerly also known as the Alliance of Hungarian Solidarity (Hungarian: Magyar Szolidaritás Szövetsége), is a right-wing national conservative political alliance of two political parties in Hungary, the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (Fidesz) and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP). The two parties jointly contested every national election since the 2006 parliamentary election. The Fidesz–KDNP party alliance has governed Hungary since 2010, altogether obtaining a supermajority in each of the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 national elections.

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Fidesz in the context of Viktor Orbán

Viktor Mihály Orbán (Hungarian: [ˈviktor ˈorbaːn] ; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 2003, and previously from 1993 to 2000. He was re-elected as prime minister in 2014, 2018, and 2022. On 29 November 2020, he became the country's longest-serving prime minister.

Orbán was first elected to the National Assembly in 1990 and led Fidesz's parliamentary group until 1993. During his first term as prime minister and head of the conservative coalition government, from 1998 to 2002, inflation and the fiscal deficit shrank, and Hungary joined NATO. After losing reelection, however, Orbán led the opposition party from 2002 to 2010.

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Fidesz in the context of Government of Hungary

The Government of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország Kormánya) exercises executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Prime Minister (miniszterelnök) is elected by the National Assembly and serves as the head of government and exercises executive power. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party with the most seats in parliament. The Prime Minister selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Cabinet nominees must appear before consultative open hearings before one or more parliamentary committees, survive a vote in the National Assembly, and be formally approved by the President. The cabinet is responsible to the parliament.

Since the fall of communism, Hungary has a multi-party system. A new Hungarian parliament was elected on 8 April 2018. This parliamentary election was the 8th since the 1990 first multi-party election. The result was a victory for FideszKDNP alliance, preserving its two-thirds majority with Viktor Orbán remaining Prime Minister. It was the second election according to the new Constitution of Hungary which went into force on 1 January 2012. The new electoral law also entered into force that day. The voters elected 199 MPs instead of previous 386 lawmakers.

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Fidesz in the context of Jobbik

The Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary (Hungarian: Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom, pronounced [ˈjobːik ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡeːrt ˈmozɡɒlom]), commonly known as Jobbik ([ˈjobːik]), and previously known as Conservatives (Hungarian: Jobbik - Konzervatívok) between 2023 and 2024, is a conservative political party in Hungary.

Originating with radical and nationalist roots, at its beginnings, the party described itself as "a principled, conservative and radically patriotic Christian party", whose "fundamental purpose" is the protection of "Hungarian values and interests." In 2014, the party was described as an "anti-Semitic organization" by The Independent and a "neo-Nazi party" by the president of the European Jewish Congress. From 2015 to 2020, the party started to re-define itself as a more moderate conservative people's party and changed the controversial elements of its communication, culminating with its new declaration of principles now defining itself as a centre-right, pro-European party with some residual moderated nationalist tendencies (the position previously occupied by Fidesz). According to the party's "Declaration of Principles", Jobbik will "always focus on the interests of Hungary and the Hungarian people instead of a political group or an ideology. On the other hand, [Jobbik] reject[s] hatemongering and extreme political views that are contrary to Christian values and ethics." However, the foreign media has remained sceptical about the efficiency of the ideological change with voices claiming the change to be comparable to "a wolf in sheep's clothing".

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Fidesz in the context of Hungarian Democratic Forum

The Hungarian Democratic Forum (Hungarian: Magyar Demokrata Fórum, pronounced [ˈmɒɟɒr ˈdɛmokrɒtɒ ˈfoːrum], MDF) was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a Hungarian nationalist, national-conservative, Christian-democratic ideology. The party was represented continuously in the National Assembly from the restoration of democracy in 1990 until 2010. It was dissolved on 8 April 2011.

The MDF was the largest party on Hungary's emergence as a democratic country under the leadership of József Antall, Prime Minister between 1990 and 1993. Since then, its representation receded, with the party playing the role of junior coalition partner to Fidesz from 1998 to 2002, and in opposition otherwise.

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