Hungary’s PM Orban accepted ruling party’s endorsement for next elections

Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Orban accepted his ruling Fidesz party’s endorsement on Sunday to lead it into an election next year, saying he needed another four year term in power to make his transformation of the country “irreversible”.

Orban, who has steered Hungary into confrontation with the EU by campaigning against immigration, asserting control over the media and courts, and criticising efforts to deepen European integration, received a unanimous 1,358 votes at a party congress to remain Fidesz leader for two more years.

With an election five months away, he leads all contenders and looks likely to secure a third consecutive landslide. “There is no mood for a change of government in Hungary, so much as a mood for a change of opposition,” Orban said to laughter and applause, referring to disarray within the centre-left.