ABSTRACT
A decentralized local government system was introduced to Hungary during the democratic transition in 1990. The newly established local electoral system divided the local level into two subsystems with different electoral formulas. With the consensus of the parties in the new parliament, the idea behind this division was that local politics in smaller communities should be about local issues, while in larger cities they should mirror national politics. The electoral results of the past 30 years show that the electoral system affects the nature of local politics differently in the two subsystems. Although to some extent the impact of national party politics can be felt even in smaller communities, these municipalities are ruled primarily by independent political actors and locally rooted civil organizations. At the same time, the local politics of larger municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants mirrors national politics, and national parties are the dominant actors in the politically more significant urban areas, holding most of the mayoral and councilor positions.
