Hungary’s ruling party mobilises diaspora ahead of elections

Series Title
Series Details 07.11.13
Publication Date 07/11/2013
Content Type

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán urged on the 6 November 2013 Hungary's large ethnic diaspora to exercise their newly won right to vote in the 2014 national election.

Using a change in citizenship rules pushed through by Orbán's conservative Fidesz party, nearly half a million members of the diaspora had applied for Hungarian citizenship, which gave them the right to register to take part in elections.

Opinion polls show Fidesz was well ahead of its rivals on 27%, but analysts said this could change. Mr Orbán took power in 2010 with a two-thirds majority that allowed his party to rewrite the constitution and major laws and follow unorthodox fiscal policies, drawing criticism from the European Union and from foreign businesses.

Separately,BBC News reported that due to the change of citizenship rules Hungary had granted tens of thousands of passports to people in neighbouring countries, making them automatic citizens of the EU with all the advantages that brought. Many people living in Serbia had taken advantage of the new rules which granted them free movement rights within the EU

Source Link Link to Main Source http://www.euractiv.com/elections/hungary-ruling-party-mobilises-d-news-531550
Related Links
ESO: Background information: Hungary amends its constitution to appease EU http://www.europeansources.info/record/hungary-amends-its-constitution-to-appease-eu/
BBC News, 07.11.13: Hungary creating new mass of EU citizens http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24848361
Blog: Open Democracy, 09.11.13: Winter chill over Hungary’s autumn http://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/yudit-kiss/winter-chill-over-hungary%E2%80%99s-autumn
Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 10.12.13: Fidesz continues to dominate Hungarian politics ahead of the country’s 2014 elections http://bit.ly/1hJ0Uv8
Népszava, 06.01.14: Left-wing electoral alliance can defeat Orbán (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE136133-Left-wing-electoral-alliance-can-defeat-Orban
Blog: Wall Street Europe: Emerging Europe, 08.01.14: Hungary Socialists May Name Premier’s Challenger http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2014/01/08/hungary-socialists-may-name-premiers-challenger/
Magyar Nemzet, 03.03.14: Of course the Hungarian elections will be clean (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/medienindex/media_articles/archiv_article/ARTICLE139415-Of-course-the-Hungarian-elections-will-be-clean
Heti Világgazdaság, 08.03.14: Orbán clearly backed by middle class (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE139748-Orban-clearly-backed-by-middle-class

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