Hungary PM's Fidesz party suffers surprise setback at local by-election

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party suffered an unexpected setback at a local government by-election on Sunday when an opposition-backed independent comfortably beat the Fidesz candidate for mayor weeks before a national election.

Orban's rightwing nationalist Fidesz is seeking a third consecutive term in parliamentary elections, campaigning with a fierce anti-immigrant message, coupled with increased spending on wage rises and promising more money to pensioners.

But preliminary results showed Peter Marki-Zay, a political novice, beating Zoltan Hegedus with 57.5 percent of the vote against 41.6 percent at the election for mayor of the southern town of Hodmezovasarhely, a Fidesz party stronghold.

"We stood up and Hodmezovasarhely has shown that we want to get rid of the big boys bullying the whole class," Marki-Zay told a news conference, drawing a big round of applause, with one of his children standing by his side.  

Source: Yahoo News