The Only Game in Town: Party Politics in Hungary

This chapter examines Hungarian party politics. Topics covered include the popular legitimacy, organizational strength, and the role of political parties in the government process. It is shown that the relative stability of the Hungarian party system sets it apart from other Eastern European countries. While in 1990 the two largest parties commanded just 46% of all list votes, the same figure was over 85% in 2006. The effective number of legislative parties changed from a moderate 3.7 in May 1990 to 2.9 in 1994, 3.4 in 1998, 2.2 in 2002, and 2.6 in 2006. This shift of the Hungarian parliament towards a two-party system has been underpinned by a polarized political space and by the majoritarian elements of the institutional framework. The political, cultural, media, and religious elite have always had a largely bipolar structure. Parties close to the 5% threshold have been repeatedly condemned by members of the elite for risking the defeat of 'their side'.