Momentum Movement

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Momentum Movement
Momentum Mozgalom
AbbreviationMomentum
Leader Márton Tompos
Deputy Leader Lajos Lőcsei
Executive Board Members
Spokesperson Áron Varsányi
Founded4 March 2017
Headquarters1077 Budapest, Rózsa utca 22.
NewspaperVan remény
Youth wing Momentum TizenX
Membership2,500
Ideology Liberalism [3]
Political position Centre [6]
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe [7]
European Parliament group Renew Europe
(2019–2024)
International affiliation Liberal International (observer member)
Colours  Purple
SloganÚj arcok, új Magyarország
('New faces, new Hungary')
National Assembly
10 / 199
European Parliament
0 / 21
County Assemblies
37 / 381
General Assembly of Budapest
0 / 33
Website
momentum.hu

Momentum Movement (Hungarian : Momentum Mozgalom, Momentum) is a centrist Hungarian political party founded in March 2017. It came to national prominence as a political association in January 2017 after organizing a petition about the Budapest bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, calling for a public referendum on the matter. The petition, which gathered over 266,151 signatures, was successful, but the government cancelled the Olympic bid before a referendum could have been held. [8] After its establishment as a political party, Momentum quickly built a national following, and presently has approximately 4,000 members.[ when? ] Momentum party candidates appeared on the ballot in most electoral districts in the 2018 Hungarian parliamentary election, promoting the replacement of the government of Viktor Orbán and advocating a new generation of political change in the country. The party obtained 3.06% of the votes, failed to reach the 5% threshold and did not get any seats in the National Assembly. In the 2019 European Parliament election in Hungary, the party obtained 9.86% and became the third largest party in the election. Two candidates of the party – Katalin Cseh and Anna Donáth – were elected to the European Parliament. [9] In the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election it ran under the list of the United for Hungary and entered parliament for the first time with 10 MPs. [10] [11] [12]

Contents

Political positions

Momentum advocates for the replacement of the present Hungarian political elite, including the government of Viktor Orbán, with a "new breed of political community in Hungary." [13] The party is generally pro-European, pro-globalisation, and anti-Putin, claiming that Hungary does not need to sacrifice its own interests in order to fulfil its commitments to the European Union. The party's social views are largely progressive in nature; it supports same-sex marriage, the decriminalisation of cannabis, and abortion rights. [14] Momentum nonetheless calls itself a centrist party, and rejects classification on either side of the political spectrum. It calls for bipartisan co-operation, writing in its mission statement that Hungary "must not be divided by ideological battles, but brought together by common goals." [15]

History

In early 2015, the Momentum Movement group was created by ten Hungarians. On November 3, 2016, the group registered as an association, led by lawyer Dániel Károly Csala. By February 2017, the association lead a drive for a referendum on Budapest's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics: they had 143 members and 1,800 activists. On March 4, 2017, Momentum Movement became an official political party, with 99 founding members. András Fekete-Győr was elected as party leader, while Anna Orosz, Tamás Soproni, Edina Pottyondy and Barnabás Kádár became deputy presidents. [16]

In May 2017, pollsters estimated that the party stood at 3% national support. Most of its supporters were high school graduates under the age of 40 or college-educated urban residents.[ citation needed ] In October 2017, the party released its platform for the upcoming election (Hungarian : országos program), a 363-page document proposing solutions to an array of perceived issues in the Hungarian governmental system. The critical reception to the document was mixed: one major Hungarian news outlet, the Magyar Idők, called the document a "pile of empty promises," while another, hvg.hu, wrote that the document's proposed healthcare policy seemed "the most detailed and thorough." In March 2018, the party announced that their parliamentary candidates would be on the ballot in 97 out of 106 electoral districts in Hungary. On April 8, 2018, the party obtained 3.08% of the popular vote in the parliamentary elections. Momentum did not meet the threshold for the party to be recognized in parliament, but qualified for government subsidies for the next term.

On May 5, 2018, the president of the party resigned, and the three head directors of the party temporarily took over leadership. In April 2019, the party was registered for the 2019 European Parliament election. On May 26, 2019, the party obtained 9.86% of the popular vote (becoming the third largest party in the election), thus meeting the 5% threshold: two candidates of the party were elected to the European Parliament.

In 2019 local election, the party managed to win mayorships of three Budapest districts and 29 seats in counties' assemblies (mostly in Pest county).

Organizational structure

Organizational hubs

Momentum has 95 organizational hubs across Hungary, as well as ten international hubs in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, the UK, Belgium, France, Denmark and Sweden. [17]

Organizational structure

Operation of Momentum is overseen by a chair of five members, including the president of the party (see below), while the Congress of Delegates (Hungarian : Küldöttgyűlés) serves as the party's primary decision-making group.

Chair members

Election results

National Assembly

ElectionLeaderConstituencyParty listSeats+/–Status
Votes %Votes %
2018 András Fekete-Győr 75,0331.36% (#6)175,2293.06% (#6)
0 / 199
newExtra-parliamentary
2022 [lower-alpha 1] Anna Donáth 1,983,70836.90% (#2)1,947,33134.44% (#2)
10 / 199
Increase2.svg 10Opposition
  1. Run within United for Hungary coalition.

European Parliament

Election yearEuropean ParliamentEP group
No. of
overall votes
 % of
overall vote
No. of
overall seats won
+/–
2019
344,512
9.93% (#3)
2 / 21
Increase2.svg 2 Renew Europe
2024
169,082
3.7% (#5)
0 / 21
Decrease2.svg 2 Renew Europe

History of leaders

ImageNameEntered officeLeft officeLength of Leadership
1 Fekete-Gyor Andras 2017-ben (cropped).jpg András Fekete-Győr 4 March 201710 October 20214 years, 7 months and 6 days
Orosz Anna 2017-ben.jpg Anna Orosz (interim)10 October 202121 November 20211 month and 11 days
2 Donath Anna Julia 2020-ban.jpg Anna Donáth 21 November 202129 May 20226 months and 8 days
3 Ferenc Gelencsér 29 May 202228 January 20241 year, 7 months and 30 days
4 Donath Anna Julia 2020-ban.jpg Anna Donáth 28 January 20247 July 20246 months and 12 days
5 TomposMarton (cropped).png Márton Tompos 7 July 2024present1 month and 2 days

Related Research Articles

The politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The prime minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the president is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position. As of 2024, The country is considered "no longer a full democracy" by the EU, and is generally said to have democratically backslid since 2010 when the Fidesz–KDNP Party Alliance led by Viktor Orbán won a two-third parliamentary supermajority and adopted a new constitution of Hungary that have both remained in place since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Coalition (Hungary)</span> Hungarian political party

The Democratic Coalition is a social-liberal and social-democratic political party in Hungary led by former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. Founded in 2010 as a faction within the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), the Democratic Coalition split from the MSZP on 22 October 2011 and became a separate party. It has fifteen MPs in the National Assembly and two MEPs in the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klára Dobrev</span> Hungarian politician

Klára Dobrev is a Hungarian left-wing politician who served as Vice-President of the European Parliament between July 2019 and January 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zsolt Borkai</span> Hungarian gymnast (born 1965)

Zsolt Borkai is a Hungarian Olympic gymnast champion and politician, who served as the mayor of Győr from 1 October 2006 to 8 November 2019. He was President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) between 20 November 2010 and 2 May 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LMP – Hungary's Green Party</span> Hungarian political party

LMP – Hungary's Green Party is a green-liberal political party in Hungary. Founded in 2009, it was one of four parties to win seats in the National Assembly in the 2010 parliamentary election. It is a member of the Global Greens, and suspended member of the European Green Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gergely Karácsony</span> Hungarian politician and Mayor of Budapest

Gergely Szilveszter Karácsony is a Hungarian politician, political scientist and current Mayor of Budapest. He previously served as member of the National Assembly (MP) from 2010 to 2014 and Mayor of Zugló from 2014 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Together (Hungary)</span> Political party in Hungary

Together, officially Together – Party for a New Era, formerly also known as Together 2014, was a social-liberal political party in Hungary formed on 26 October 2012 for the 2014 Hungarian parliamentary election by Gordon Bajnai, the former Prime Minister of Hungary, to contest Viktor Orbán's government. Together was founded as a coalition of left-wing and liberal political movements and civil organizations that transformed itself into a party in March 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 European Parliament election in Hungary</span>

An election of Members of the European Parliament from Hungary to the European Parliament was held on 25 May 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Hungarian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 8 April 2018. The elections were the second since the adoption of a new constitution, which came into force on 1 January 2012. The result was a victory for the Fidesz–KDNP alliance, preserving its two-thirds majority, with Viktor Orbán remaining Prime Minister. Orbán and Fidesz campaigned primarily on the issues of immigration and foreign meddling, and the election was seen as a victory for right-wing populism in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">András Fekete-Győr</span> Hungarian politician

András Fekete-Győr is a Hungarian activist, lawyer and politician. He was the inaugural leader of the Momentum Movement party from 2016 to 2021. Fekete-Győr became a nationally known political figure, when he led the successful NOlimpia campaign against the Budapest bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which was one of the first major blows for the national conservative government of Fidesz and its leader Viktor Orbán, who governs the country with a two-thirds majority since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Hungarian parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 3 April 2022 to elect the National Assembly, coinciding with a referendum. Hungary's incumbent prime minister Viktor Orbán won re-election to a fourth term. Addressing his supporters after the partial results showed Fidesz leading by a wide margin, Orbán said: "We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels." Opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay admitted defeat shortly after Orbán's speech. Reuters described it as a "crushing victory".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 European Parliament election in Hungary</span>

An election of Members of the European Parliament from Hungary to the European Parliament was held on 26 May 2019, electing the 21 members of the Hungary delegation to the European Parliament as part of the European elections held across the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Donáth</span> Hungarian politician (born 1987)

Anna Júlia Donáth is a Hungarian politician. She was elected as a Momentum Movement Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the 2019 European Parliament election. Donáth was the leader of the party between 21 November 2021 and 29 May 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Budapest mayoral election</span> Budapest mayoral election in 2019

The 2019 Budapest mayoral election was held on 13 October 2019 to elect the Mayor of Budapest (főpolgármester). On the same day, local elections were also held throughout Hungary, including the districts of Budapest which will determine the composition of the General Assembly. The election is run using a first-past-the-post voting system. The winner of the election will serve for a term of five years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Péter Márki-Zay</span> Hungarian politician (born 1972)

Péter Márki-Zay, often referred to by his initials MZP, is a Hungarian politician, marketer, economist, electrical engineer and historian. He has served as mayor of Hódmezővásárhely since 2018, and is the co-founder of the Everybody's Hungary Movement. As the winner of the 2021 opposition primary, he was the candidate of the United for Hungary challenging Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the 2022 parliamentary election, which he lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamás Soproni</span>

Tamás István Soproni is a Hungarian linguist, translator and politician, who has been the Mayor of Terézváros since 2019. He is a member of the Momentum Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Orosz</span> Hungarian economist and politician

Anna Orosz is a Hungarian economist and politician, Member of Parliament since 2022. From March 2017 to May 2018 she was a member of the board of the Momentum Movement. From October 2019 local government representative Újbuda, she became the deputy mayor of Újbuda. On 11 October 2021, during the 2nd round of the Hungarian Opposition Primary, she took over the management of Momentum from András Fekete-Győr. In the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election, she was elected as MP to represent Budapest 2nd constituency in the National Assembly.

Ferenc József Gelencsér is a Hungarian politician, member of the National Assembly, and leader of the Momentum Movement party since 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">György Buzinkay</span> Politician from Hungary

György Buzinkay is a Hungarian politician, politologist and economist. He was a chairman for Momentum Movement. He was the candidate of United for Hungary at the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election.

Events in the year 2024 in Hungary.

References

  1. Zubor Zalán (1 May 2017). "Momentum – centrista, nemzeti és liberális". Hír TV (in Hungarian). Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  2. "A new Hungarian liberal party challenges the autocratic Viktor Orban". The Economist. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  3. [1] [2]
  4. Meret Baumann (2 May 2017). "Wenn wir wegen ein paar hundert Flüchtlingen um unsere Kultur fürchten müssen, dann haben wir eine schwache Kultur". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. Bayer, Lili (1 April 2022). "Hungarian opposition's 'forced marriage' to unseat Viktor Orbán". Politico Europe. Budapest. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  6. [4] [5]
  7. "Orbán fő ellenségének pártcsaládjához csatlakozott a Momentum". 2018-11-10. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  8. Tamás, Dull Szabolcs, Német (2017-02-17). "Sínen a népszavazás: 266 151 aláírást adott le a Momentum". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2019-01-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Szabolcs, Dull (2019-05-27). "Ők lesznek a magyar EP-képviselők". Index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  10. Márk, Herczeg (2017-05-01). "A Momentum első nagy tüntetésével bemutatta, hogy komoly ellenzéki erő lehet". 444. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  11. alon.hu. "Választás 2018 – Momentum: 97 helyen adtak le ötszáznál több ajánlást". www.alon.hu. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  12. "Nemzeti Választási Iroda - Országgyűlési Választás 2022". vtr.valasztas.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  13. Zrt, HVG Kiadó (2017-07-18). "Momentum: Ne szavazzunk posztkomcsi utódpártokra!". hvg.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  14. Szabolcs, Dull (2017-05-03). "Az ifjú KDNP-sek a meleglobbit sejtik a Momentum elnöke mögött". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  15. "Momentum – Vízió az öt ügyről". Momentum Mozgalom. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  16. Tóth, Richárd. "Párttá alakul a Momentum, Fekete-Győr az új elnök" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  17. "Alapszervezeti Térkép". Momentum Mozgalom (in Hungarian). 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-06-18.