Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s election triumph on Sunday delighted other nationalists but sent a chill through civil society groups and portended fresh battles with Brussels.
After a campaign centred on resistance to immigration and trumpeting a strong economy, near-complete results showed that Mr. Orban’s Fidesz party snapped up almost half the vote (48.8%).
This will give it a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a legislative carte blanche to pursue his transformation of the central European country into what he calls an “illiberal democracy”. OSCE monitors said that “xenophobic rhetoric” and “media bias” in the campaign impaired voters’ ability to make an informed choice.
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European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will write to Mr. Orban to congratulate him on his “clear victory”, a spokesperson said.