Hungary

For a long time the Hungarian party system had not absorbed the question of European integration into its pattern of competition mainly because in spite of the conflicting nature of party politics the issue of integration was characterized by a high level of consensus both on the mass and the elite level. As in other countries of the CEE region EU accession was regarded as a necessity or an opportunity for the country to finally occupy the place it deserves in the European club. The lack of interest resulted in a low-profile campaign for the European Parliament dominated by domestic issues. However, in spite of its second-order nature, in 2009 the EP elections gained momentum as two new parties, the radical right-wing For the Right Hungary (Jobbik) and the green Politics Can Be Different (LMP), entered the political arena as relevant political actors with Jobbik winning three out of the 22 European parliamentary mandates. With the failure of the Alliance of Liberal Democrats (SZDSZ) to win any seat to the European Parliament, one of the most pro-European parties disappeared from the political arena, while hard Euroskepticism that used to be represented by extra-parliamentary parties became palpable with the strengthening of Jobbik. While the domestic political context was certainly the driving force of change, the stance and the interaction of parties regarding the European process cannot be neglected: the growing number of Euromanifestos presented and the appearance of high-profile politicians on party lists suggest that Hungarian parties started to use the European political arena and define themselves in the European dimension as well. The fact that the new pattern of party system emerging at the EP elections was further reinforced at the 2010 general elections also supports the assumption that European and national level politics strongly interact.