Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BUDAPEST842
2006-04-24 12:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Budapest
Cable title:  

HUNGARY'S ELECTIONS: PRELIMINARY SECOND ROUND

Tags:  PGOV KDEM SOCI PINR HU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2486
RR RUEHAG
DE RUEHUP #0842/01 1141234
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 241234Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9056
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 000842 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2011
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI PINR HU
SUBJECT: HUNGARY'S ELECTIONS: PRELIMINARY SECOND ROUND
RESULTS SHOW RULING COALITION RETURNED TO POWER
(C-RE6-00145)

REF: STATE 22644

Classified By: Pol/C Bob Patterson. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 000842

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2011
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI PINR HU
SUBJECT: HUNGARY'S ELECTIONS: PRELIMINARY SECOND ROUND
RESULTS SHOW RULING COALITION RETURNED TO POWER
(C-RE6-00145)

REF: STATE 22644

Classified By: Pol/C Bob Patterson. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) The April 23 final round of the parliamentary
elections returned the current MSZP-SZDSZ governing coalition
to power with an enhanced majority. The Central Election
Commission is expected to certify final returns the week of
May 1, once absentee ballots are tabulated, then President
Solyom after consultation with the four parliamentary parties
should invite current Prime Minister Gyurcsany to form a
government. Gyurcsany signaled to Ambassador at a brief
post-election meeting the evening of April 23 that we will
immediately tackle Hungary's yawning budget deficit and the
associated public sector reform. The election result spells
the second consecutive election defeat for opposition FIDESZ,
but Party President Viktor Orban, shows no signs of
relinquishing his grasp on power.

--------------
The (Almost) Final Tally
--------------


2. (U) With 98.26 percent of the vote counted, it appears
that the MSZP-SZDSZ coalition can expect 210 out of
Parliament's 386 seats, or a 16-seat majority. According to
these nearly-final results, the National Election Commission
currently estimates that the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)
will have 186 seats, the FIDESZ and their partner Christian
Democratic People's Party (FIDESZ-KDNP) 164, the Alliance of
Free Democrats (SZDSZ) 18, the Hungarian Democratic Forum
(MDF) 11 and the "For Somogy" Union 1 vote. Joint MSZP-SZDSZ
candidates won 6 seats. That leaves a difference of 46 seats
between the coalition parties and FIDESZ. Eleven
individual-constituency races remain too close to call and
results will be certified only on or after April 29, when the
tabulation of absentee ballots will be complete.

--------------
Voter Turnout
--------------


3. (U) While overall turnout was robust in Hungary's 2006
elections, the mood was not revolutionary. Turnout for the

April 23 second round was 64.34 percent, with a high of 70.75
in Budapest and a low of 59.42 percent in
Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok County. The average was some 10 points
lower than in 2002's second round, when the political
atmosphere was highly charged.

--------------
Prime Minister-Elect's Speech
--------------


4. (U) In his victory speech yesterday evening, Prime
Minister-elect Ferenc Gyurcsany emphasized national unity and
the personal responsibility he feels to all Hungarians,
regardless of whom they voted for. (He said he would
continue to serve in the name of 10 million Hungarians, and
in the interest of 15 million Hungarians.) Gyurcsany
suggested that what his party had won was not power, but
&tasks and responsibility.8 He expressed his faith in the
Hungarian people, who knowthat &it is not enough to ask
what I can get fro the nation, but also to ask what I can
give to t,8 and painted a vision of the country where
&ech can reach his goals as according to his talents.

--------------
Orban Concedes
--------------


5. (U) Speaking at a pres conference just a few minutes
after conceding dfeat to Gyurcsany, FIDESZ President Viktor
Orbansaid the greatest lesson for his party is that a
conservative victory is impossible without unity. &Our
opponents,8 Orban said, &learned the importance of
unifying8 and thus ensured their victory. In the role of a
&constructive opposition,8 Orban pledged that FIDESZ would
support institutions which the Hungarian democracy &may
still lack.8 He also noted that FIDESZ will protect the
interests of everyone who voted for the party and that the
party,s supporters need shed no tears for FIDESZ; although
the shedding of a few tears may be justified for the nation.

--------------

BUDAPEST 00000842 002 OF 002


Other Party Presidents Speak
--------------


6. (U) Speaking to elated supporters, SZDSZ leader Gabor
Kuncze responded to Orban,s speech by reminding everyone
that &there is no need to protect anyone, as no one is being
threatened.8 Kuncze noted that such rhetoric serves only to
divide the country, and that the election results show that
the majority rejected &what FIDESZ chose to convey between
the two election rounds.8 MDF party president Ibolya David,
in her speech, congratulated the winners, and thanked members
of her party for not caving in under the pressure of the last
two weeks. Voicing sharp criticism of FIDESZ, David said the
senior opposition party did not lose the elections on April
23, but by its &politicking8 over the course of the last
several years. She called FIDESZ,s attempt to unite the
right &under one color8 a serious wrong. David said MDF,s
performance in the elections established that the party,s
call for normalcy and decency in politics does resonate with
voters and added that the right faces a major transformation
in Hungary, in which MDF intends to play an important role.

--------------
Gyurcsany Outlines His Plans
To Ambassador
--------------


7. (C) The Ambassador and DCM congratulated all four of the
parliamentary parties' leading candidates evening April 23
(election eve) immediately after FIDESZ President Orban had
conceded defeat to Prime Minister-elect Gyurcsany. Orban
thanked the Ambassador for his effort to seek him out at
FIDESZ headquarters. Both SZDSZ President Gabor Kuncze and
MDF President Ibolya David were grateful for the visit as
well. In a brief, sit-down meeting, Gyurcsany, who was
accompanied by his wife, Klara Dobrev, regretted the previous
four "wasted years," and promised that his party with its
enhanced mandate would immediately tackle the tough issues on
Hungary's agenda, among them public sector reform and the
concomitant budged deficit. In fact, Gyurcsany said, he
would outline his government-elect's program at a press
conference to be held afternoon, April 24 (septel) Gyurcsany
predicted his new government would be ready for action by
mid-June. He stressed the importance of both solid relations
within the EU and good transatlantic issues, and indicated he
would continue his efforts to burnish relations with Russia.

-------------- --------------
Next Steps in Forming a Government
-------------- --------------


8. (U) Final tallies, including absentee ballots, should be
recorded by the Central Election Commission (CEC) by April

29. Some of the remaining eleven undecided races are very
close, however, and requests to the CEC for a re-count in a
few of those contests cannot be excluded, which could delay
the announcement of final election results by an additional
several days. Once final results are certified, President
Solyom will consult with the leaders of all parliamentary
parties before inviting Prime Minister-elect Gyurcsany to
form a government. Within thirty days of receiving that
invitation, Gyurcsany must convene Parliament. As noted
above, Gyurcsany expects to announce his new government by
mid-June. Should he wish to reduce the number of ministries
as part of his effort to streamline government, legislative
action would be necessary when the Parliament is convened in
June.


9. (U) Visit Embassy Budapest's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/budapest/index.cfm
WALKER