Changing Local Relations: Effects of Political and Administrative Reforms in Hungary

The study focuses on the recent reforms of the Hungarian local government. After its overwhelming national electoral success in 2010, the right-wing party Fidesz altered the Hungarian political system in many aspects. Numerous provisions affected also the sub-national political institutions. While the local electoral reform in 2010 resulted in a shift of the political relations within the sub-national governments, the administrative reforms (2011-2014) changed the daily operation of the local governments. The study analyzes the data on the nomination process and the results of the Hungarian local election in 2010. Furthermore, it uses the experiences of semi-structured interviews with local leaders to offer an evaluation of the ongoing reforms. It argues that there is a significant shift in the local political system of the post-transition Hungary: the local governments become less important actors of the political system, while their leadership is more and more captured by the national party politics.