The new party system

Until the second half of the 2000s, literature on the Hungarian party system focused on the emergence of stability and the “freezing” of the party system (Enyedi 2006). This was no coincidence: ten years ago, the Hungarian party system appeared to be the most stable and least changeable system in the region, with clear and easily identifiable fault lines, permanent players, and low voter volatility. All this changed radically after 2006; the 2010 election can rightly be called a "political earthquake" or a "critical election" (Enyedi–Benoit 2011; Róbert–Papp 2012). The government that came to power in 2010 attempted to transform the entire political system—since then, Hungary has a new constitution, a new parliamentary law, and a new electoral system. However, the party system can only be influenced by two-thirds rules—but it can only be shaped by the actors jointly, in interaction with each other. Therefore, the extent to which the 2010 election was extraordinary in the Hungarian party system and marked the beginning of a new era only became clear in retrospect. In the summer of 2014, this question seems to have been decided: a new era began in the party system in 2010. This study analyzes the characteristics and defining features of this new era. Our study examines four questions in greater detail. First, we present the most important data describing the party system: we present the development and situation of the Hungarian party system in 2014. Next, we attempt to summarize the conceptual characteristics of the new party system.