This would be the first time that any party has managed to hold power for two terms.

As previously discussed, the political parties don’t quite conform to typical expectations as understood in the US, nor even as they would be understood a hop, skip, and jump away in Italy. If you’re not familiar with the scene, you’ll want to hit the link and jog your memory.

Results here are as follows:
MSZP 43.21%
FIDESZ 42.03%
SZDSZ 6.50%
MDF 5.04%

This is a strong showing for the Free Democrats (SZDSZ – mild minarchists, sort of libertarian lite), and a truly unexpectedly strong showing for the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), who were expected by quite a number to fall completely out of Parliament. There are 13 days left until the second and final round of polling, and it’s a fair bet that the mud will really start to fly — not that there need be much excuse for this in Hungary, whose politics make US Presidential campaigns look like polite, over-mannered Edwardian-era tea-party debates by comparison.

This is not to imply that the preliminary jockeying leading to second-round campaigning was without shenanigans. FIDESZ effectively offered the MDF junior status and perhaps the position of Prime Minister to Ibolya David, the MDF head, in a “we’ll withdraw people from districts where the Socialists aren’t running, so you can get more seats, if you’ll wash our backs while our Party does its level best to completely absorb you” sort of deal. Ms. David, who runs the MDF, rebuked said offer(link in English), even if offered the Prime Ministership, and seems to be quite willing to embrace multi-polar politics.

That was a serious mistake for FIDESZ, as it betrays a certain degree of desperation on Orban’s part, but, most of all, gives MDF plenty of low-hanging fruit, and an opportunity for MD. David to display cred as a politician who’s not simply in it for a quick rise to personal power, and her credentials as a moderate in the MSZP-FIDESZ bloodletting. (Personal note– I’m not a fan of MDF’s policies. Since I lay my political alms at the altar of “Hayek and Co.”, I naturally tend to be sympathetic to their arch-rivals in the SZDSZ, but even I had to be impressed with the general scrappiness on display. Ms. David won her party some major points in this little exchange.)

It’ll remain to be seen how these folks come out of the second round, and whether or not they take care of what almost any man in the street can tell you — the “deadening hand” of Hungary’s incredibly tax-happy state. As it stands now, with one of the major parties holding a clear lead in combination with its junior coalition partner, the possibility of continuing reform hangs out there, which is a good sign, and the serious risk of a German-style “Grand Coalition Standing for Nothing” has passed.