Hungary’s primary opposition bloc, the Fidesz party, voted on Saturday to retain former Prime Minister Viktor Orban as its chief for an additional year, Reuters reported.
The leadership renewal arrives despite the party suffering a definitive defeat during the April 12 election cycle at the hands of the center-right Tisza party.
Orban’s long-term future grew highly uncertain following the spring electoral upset. He weathered unprecedented pushback from previously steadfast allies urging his retirement - marking the very first instance of public internal dissent since his landslide ascent to power in 2010.
State news agency MTI reported that 729 out of 737 participating delegates cast ballots to keep Orban at the helm during the Fidesz party congress. He ran completely unopposed for the position.
“I do not give up, I never, never, never, never, never give up," Orban told the congress in a speech before the vote, reiterating that he took full responsibility for the party’s election defeat.
The veteran politician remarked that while Fidesz had operated as a “fantastic governing party" for a span of 16 years, the political machinery must now adapt to serve as an effective opposition force capable of reclaiming state leadership in the future.
During the April ballots, Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s Tisza party secured a sweeping two-thirds supermajority in parliament. This decisive margin grants the incoming government sufficient legislative power to systematically dismantle and undo the various constitutional overhauls enacted during Orbán's tenure.