In a fast-track procedure, the left-wing governing majority of Germany has recently amended the electoral law in force since 1949. The biggest loser of this reform may be the current opposition: two opposition parties (CSU and The Left) could be dealt a fatal blow by the new legislation. Until now, this kind of procedure has been a real taboo in German political culture, which has always advocated for the need of consensus on every issue. The opposition is appealing to the Constitutional Court and will fight with all its might to abolish this new electoral reform.

The populist right-wing PVV party, known for its anti-immigration and Eurosceptic stances, won by far the most seats in the Dutch House of Representatives, 37, and got the largest share of the popular vote, 23.5 per cent, as well in last night’s special election. Party leader Geert Wilders is a long-time ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary.

No surprises expected: the Kremlin is preparing for the 2024 presidential elections with hand-picked candidates and restrictions.

Oleksii Arestovych, a former advisor to the Ukrainian president recently announced his candidacy for the Ukrainian presidency, the election for which is scheduled to happen in 2024—however, due to the martial law in force in the country, the elections might not be organized.

In his regular interview on public radio, the Hungarian Prime Minister pledged to defend Hungary’s borders, to resist pressure from Brussels aiming to change his government’s policies, insisted that Ukraine cannot win on the battlefield, and announced a new National Consultation.

On the European level, the representatives of Poland and Slovakia often share concerns and vote together with Hungary, especially Poland—at least, it did so until now. While Bratislava is most likely to develop even closer cooperation with Budapest with Fico’s victory, Warsaw will most certainly cease to be the staunch ally it used to be.

Fulfilling the predictions of the recent polls, the SMER party has won the early elections in Slovakia. Robert Fico will likely be elected prime minister for the fourth time in the history of the Central European country.

The Spanish conservative PP won, but failed to secure a majority in the parliamentary elections this Sunday. Its potential coalition partner Vox significantly underperformed, winning only 33 seats in parliament, which means that forming a viable right-wing coalition government will be trickier than expected.

She is resigning to take an active part in the campaign in the 2024 European Parliamentary election. She is also rumoured to be leading the Fidesz EP list, although that is yet to be confirmed. The minister believes that she has fulfilled all the tasks she took on when she was appointed.

The Hungarian Prime Minister congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the phone on his victory in the first round of the presidential election in Turkey.

In her remarks, Minister Varga paraphrased the words of Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who said that Europe will either be Christian or not be at all.

In his interview with Richard Quest, Péter Szijjártó asked the rhetorical question: ‘Do you think all this would be possible if there were systemic corruption? Because if there is systemic corruption, there is no growth, investors do not come, and they do not bring their money here.’

It remains to be seen, however, if this desperate craving for attention, and the aggressive and violent actions that some of the opposition forces engage in are appealing to the Hungarian electorate. It is more likely that meaningful, constructive actions, and a comprehensive and relevant political agenda would benefit these opposition parties more than any of the stunts they have been recently engaging in.

Ahead of the early elections in Slovakia, Hungarian minority parties are negotiating to create an election alliance, in order to maximise the chance of an ethnic Hungarian party being present again in the Bratislava parliament.

According to recent polls, the Finns Party is predicted to win the most seats in the upcoming election, potentially leading to the formation of a nationalist right-wing government for the first time in Finland.

Both Nézőpont Intézet, typically associated with the governing party, and Medián, generally viewed as closer to the opposition, put Fidesz ahead of the strongest opposition party, the Democratic Coalition (DK), by over 35 percentage points.

The United States and the United Kingdom recently sanctioned Bulgarian citizens for their alleged abuse of public funds under the Global Magnitsky Act.

From Czechia to Ukraine, voters in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe will be going to the polls in 2023.

On the state level, the most widely supported party happened to be the 2021-founded unified Hungarian formation, Aliancia – Szövetség, which will obtain almost 13 per cent of the available seats and have 54 representatives state-wide in the next cycle alone. This is an excellent result and an encouraging sign for ethnic Hungarians two years before the upcoming parliamentary elections.

‘I expect that the Republicans will have a comfortable majority in the House, and will also take the Senate, with a two- to four-seat majority.’

‘A stable Israeli administration under Benjamin Netanyahu and a victory of the US Republican Party in the midterm elections would be a bright and promising development for peace in the Middle East,’ said Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, on Wednesday in Jordan.

Part of the Republican Party is growing increasingly sceptical of supporting Ukraine with military and financial aid. If the GOP wins the midterm elections in November, the channelling of American funds to Ukraine might slow down.

Giorgia Meloni is set to take power in Italy. The leader of the Brothers of Italy party could be the first ever female prime minister of the country. The right-wing coalition she leads got 44.4 per cent of the votes in the elections.

The rainbow coalition envisioned in the opposition party headquarters and progressive think tanks did not necessarily resonate with the wishes and expectations of the Hungarian voters.

It seems that the louder the international left fights for Hungarian ‘democracy’, the stronger the Fidesz governments the democracy in question elects.

In order to restart the economy, Macron is proposing measures with both social and economic dimensions, including an EU-level fuel tax and EU standards to be enforced in trade agreements, and he is a strong proponent of the directives on minimum wage and gender equality.

‘President Macron will surely do whatever he can to hold as much influence and power within the European Union as he can, that more often than not will mean efforts to look for compromise with partners, and to defend French interests.’

Despite all odds and the largest-ever effort to overturn Prime Minister Orbán, the governing Fidesz party retained its super-majority in a landslide victory, securing its fourth consecutive term as voters chose stability over uncertainty.

Hungarians’ decision in next month’s parliamentary elections to ensure Orbán another term is of vital importance not just for their economic and social stability, but for the rest of Europe, too.

Let us have a look at what is behind the results and what conclusions Europe can draw from the German elections.