Former Hungarian Prime Minister Orban re-elected party leader despite losing election | Election News

Viktor Orban, who ran unopposed, said he took full responsibility for the defeat of his pro-Russian Fidesz party in April.

Hungary’s main opposition Fidesz party has re-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orban as its leader for another year, despite the Russian-backed party’s defeat in April’s election to the centre-right, pro-Western Tisza party.

Some 729 out of 737 delegates voted to re-elect Orban, who ran unopposed, at a congress of the Fidesz party, state-run MTI said on Saturday.

Orban’s political future was in doubt after Fidesz’s defeat, when he faced pressure from some loyalists to quit politics, the first such opposition since he came to power in 2010.

“I won’t give up, I won’t give up, I can’t, I can’t, I won’t give up,” Orban told Congress in a speech before the vote, repeating that he took full responsibility for the party’s defeat.

Orban, 62, said Fidesz had been a “good governing party” for 16 years but needed to transform itself into an opposition party that would be ready to rule again.

Nationalist Orban has inspired right-wing populists in Europe and the United States as the leader of what he has called a “liberal way” of democracy. During his time in office, he fostered close ties with United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the April 12 election, the Tisza party of Prime Minister Peter Magyar he got the support of two-thirds of the parliamentenough to reverse Orban’s constitutional reforms that have disrupted the courts, the media, universities and other institutions.

Since taking power in May, Magyar has promised to change the constitution to remove President Tamas Sulyok and other officials appointed by Orban. His new government too agreed to override Orban’s veto against Ukraine following the membership of the European Union, allowing to resume next week with talks in Luxembourg.

Also, a The EU has announced that it would unlock 16.4 billion euros ($19bn) of the 18 billion euros ($21bn) planned for Hungary, but it was frozen when Orban came to power due to the backsliding of democracy, corruption and the handling of LGBTQ issues.

Fidesz has lost support since the election, according to a poll. A May poll by the Publicus Institute showed Tisza with 55 percent support, up from 53 percent in the election, while Fidesz’s support dropped to 17 percent, down from 39 percent.