Hungary's Orban Romps to Victory as Far-Right Makes Gains

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban Monday savoured a decisive election victory that gives him almost free rein during four more years in power, even as the far-right made fresh gains.

"Voters said yes to our new legal system, including our new constitution, to a new economic model based on work, and to a government led by a popular European party," the pugnacious Orban, 50, proclaimed a day after the vote.

With 99 percent of votes counted, Orban's Fidesz party was on 44.5 percent, far ahead of the fractious opposition center-left alliance led by Attila Mesterhazy at 26.0 percent.

In third place, the far-right Jobbik party made strong gains to take a 20.5 percent share, up from 16.7 percent in the last election in 2010.

If confirmed, this would mean Fidesz narrowly retained its commanding two-thirds majority in parliament, giving Orban a legislative carte blanche for another four years.

The prime minister, however, declared on Monday that having a two-thirds majority was "unimportant".

"What's important is that we can continue the work we have begun," he said. Two controversial measures already passed by his government -- a cut in utility prices and a special tax on banks -- will stay in place, he added.

During his first term, Orban put his majority to devastating use with a legislative blitz that opponents say has tightened his control on democratic institutions in the EU member state.

Orban says he has cleaned up the chaos left by eight years of left-wing government before 2010.

A crestfallen and angry Mesterhazy, 39, said late Sunday that he accepted the result, but refused to congratulate his adversary.

"Orban has continuously abused his power," he said. "Hungary is not free, it is not a democracy."

Election observers from the European security body OSCE said Monday that Fidesz "enjoyed an undue advantage because of restrictive campaign regulations, biased media coverage and campaign activities that blurred the separation between political party and the State".

Overall, however, the election was "transparently and efficiently administered," said the head of the OSCE election-monitoring mission in Hungary, Adao Silva.

EU spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen declined to comment on whether Brussels was concerned, saying only that Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso had sent Orban a letter of congratulations.

Berlin, meanwhile, urged Budapest not to abuse its authority if it were to win a super-majority again.

With such a result comes "a particular responsibility to use this majority with moderation and restraint and to take constitutional principles into account," said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert.

The pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet trumpeted on Monday that Hungary was "at the gates of a great future".

"The political community led by Viktor Orban -- whether you like it or not -- is now able to defend, fine trim, perfect, complete, nail down, and mend the new economic and social structure put together in the last four years," it said.

Orban has also claimed credit for Hungary's economic recovery, with growth accelerating and inflation tame.

But experts say that his bashing of multinational corporations, banks and "imperial Brussels bureaucrats" has frightened away foreign investors, and that below the rosy headline data it is a different story.

Central European University political scientist Zoltan Miklosi, said Fidesz swept the board thanks to a weak left-wing and changes to the electoral system.

"They would have won a simple majority under a fairer system but not two-thirds," he told AFP.

Final results will be announced on Saturday, although parties will still be able to appeal them. Official figures will be made known by April 25.

Ahead of European elections next month, where far-right parties are widely expected to score big, the other winner of the night was Jobbik.

"This confirms that honest politics bears fruit," said leader Gabor Vona, describing his party as the "most successful radical nationalist party in the European Union".

Formerly known for its anti-Roma and anti-Semitic tendencies, Jobbik -- already the third-largest group in the outgoing parliament -- tried to re-brand itself ahead of the election.

European Jewish Congress president Moshe Kantor warned that Jobbik's performance was a "dark day" for Hungary that gives Europe's far-right a "strong tailwind" ahead of May's EU vote.

He called on European leaders and voters to deliver "a strong message... to show these racists and xenophobes that hate has no place on our continent".

Orban, whose party has adopted some of Jobbik's nationalist tones in the past, has instead sought to position himself as a bulwark for democracy.

"We are close to a two-thirds majority in parliament. I think that's the best defense against the far-right," he said Monday.