The election programme of Hungary’s main opposition Fidesz party, published today, fits well into the party’s election strategy which is set to avoid risks, the research director of political think tank Nezopont said on Friday.
Samuel Agoston Mraz told MTI that the programme offers a general view of the world instead of making promises for everyday life and to individual groups of society. The programme can avoid making promises because Fidesz does not have a real competitor at the upcoming elections and, despite a low-key campaign, power relations between Fidesz and the governing Socialists have not changed over the recent months, he said.
Deputy director of think tank Political Capital Attila Juhasz told MTI that the programme failed to include much concrete information because “it is not in Fidesz’s interest to make promises that voters can later call them to account for.”
Instead, the election programme attempts to cool down expectations and argues that Fidesz will have a narrow manoeuvring room after entering government, he said. The discussion of party plans grouped under large topics might imply that Fidesz plans to merge some of the ministries, he added.
The chapters that address topics, such as creating order, public safety and calling leaders to account for their actions are attempts to curb the increasing popularity of the radical nationalist Jobbik party, but this is unlikely to significantly affect Jobbik’s performance in the elections, Juhasz said.
