Hungarian opposition to unite against Orbán in 2022 election

Six Hungarian opposition parties have announced they will work together to defeat Victor Orbán at the next general election.

The group of centre-left and centre-right parties, citing “the will of their constituents”, announced they will nominate a unity candidate in each of the country’s 106 constituencies and will begin formal talks to prepare for the elections in 2022.

In a joint statement, they also announced that they intend to agree a joint programme of government and will govern together should they achieve a majority.

The new alliance will have its first major test in just two months time, with the party’s agreeing a unity candidate to contest a by-election in Szerencs, after the town’s Fidesz MP died in a car crash.

The news follows polling from last month found that 83 percent of opposition voters believe the parties should cooperate and form a single party list for the next general election.

Former Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Coalition Ferenc Gyurcsány has also called for co-operation between the opposition parties, citing the success of such an arrangement at last year’s local elections. Fidesz candidates were defeated in a number of cities, including Budapest, after opposition parties formed an informal coalition.