Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has clashed repeatedly with the EU and foreign investors over economic policy, said yesterday a weekend poll victory gave him a clear mandate to “continue what we have started”.

A 20 per cent vote for the far-right opposition Jobbik party, accused of anti-Semitism, raised concern among ethnic minorities. That outcome will also be noted in other EU countries expecting a rise in right-wing and anti-immigration parties at May European Parliament elections. Orban has raised concern among foreign investors and in the EU with policies including a windfall tax on the banking sector, and reductions in household energy prices.

But many Hungarians see Orban, a 50-year-old former dissident under Communism, as a champion of national interests.

After 99 per cent of ballots were counted from Sunday’s vote, an official projection gave Orban’s Fidesz party 133 of 199 Parliament seats, guaranteeing it will form the next government. That tally also gave Orban’s party the two-thirds majority needed for it to change the constitution, but only by one seat. Final results could still push Fidesz back below the threshold.

The same projection gave the Socialist-led leftist alliance 38 seats, while far-right Jobbik was on 23 seats.

International election observers said the election was, overall, transparently administered; but some factors gave undue advantage to the ruling party.