Hungary's Orbán nominated for another term as prime minister

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been nominated as the candidate for prime minister by the ruling party Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance for the upcoming parliamentary elections in April.

The decision was made at the 31st Fidesz congress held in Budapest, which was broadcast live by national television channels, Caliber.Az cites Fidesz's website. 

Orbán was unanimously elected by the delegates with no opposition. Thanking them for their trust, he said, “After 20 years as prime minister, I am still ready to take on this task.”

The question of whether Orbán will remain party leader will be decided after the elections, which will determine the composition of the new government. The FIDES coalition, together with its junior partners, the Christian Democrats, is competing against the opposition Tisa Party, led by former government official Péter Mádjár.

The congress, held at the Hungarexpo exhibition center in Budapest, was attended by about 1,400 delegates and a similar number of guests, including government members, parliamentarians, and city mayors. Among them was Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, head of the Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP). Several dozen participants spoke from the podium.

Foreign guests were also present. Video greetings were shown from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, and leaders of right-wing parties from France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Poland.

By Khagan Isayev