Fidesz has just lost its parliamentary two-thirds, but only in the formal sense

HUNGARY - In Brief 13 Jul 2020 by Istvan Racz

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On July 10, one of Fidesz' parliamentary deputies passed away, due to an unfortunate traffic accident. As a result, Fidesz now has only 132 MPs in the unicameral National Assembly, just one short of the number required to have a two-thirds constitutional majority. There will be an interim election held for this specific seat in parliament, but that will take several, most probably 4-5, months from now.However, in practice, Fidesz has little to worry about. As a hidden reserve, they can most probably rely on one MP representing the German ethnic minority, who has been systematically voting with Fidesz, and also on three other MPs representing the radical right-wing Mi Hazánk movement, which is also known as a Fidesz ally.So it is most probably fair to say that no disruption at all is likely to take place as regards the continuity of Fidesz' constitutional majority, even for the limited period until the interim vote can be held. And by the way, the constitutional majority is not required for the everyday running of the country, and especially not for fiscal issues, of course.