Viktor Orbán re-elected Fidesz leader with 729 of 737 votes, defying calls to step down after April election rout

The vote

At a congress in Budapest, 729 of 737 delegates backed Viktor Orbán's re-election as chairman of Fidesz. He faced no challenger. In a speech before the ballot, he took full responsibility for the party's defeat in April's parliamentary election.

I do not give up, never, never, never, never, never give up.

The vote came after Orbán had privately offered to resign as party president in the wake of the loss, though the party leadership rejected that proposal.

After the defeat

Fidesz lost power after 16 years in government when the centre-right Tisza party, led by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, won a two-thirds parliamentary majority on 12 April. That margin is sufficient to reverse constitutional amendments enacted under Orbán. The defeat prompted some former loyalists to openly call for his retirement, the first such internal criticism of his leadership since he became prime minister in 2010.

Polling decline

A May poll by the Publicus Institute showed Tisza at 55 percent support (up from 53 percent at the election) while Fidesz slid to 17 percent (down from 39 percent). Orbán told the congress that Fidesz must undergo changes to become a functioning opposition party that is ready to govern again.