WHITHER EAST EUROPEAN DEMOCRACIES - THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE 1994 HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION

The 1994 Hungarian parliamentary election was an important event in th e political and economic transition of the country. Its timing after t he 'honeymoon' period for new ideas which followed the release from Co mmunism in 1990 reflects the economic and political evolution of the c ountry at the end of the 20th century. The Hungarian Socialist Party, the absolute winner of the elections gained 149 of the 176 parliamenta ry constituencies and 32.99 percent of the total vote. It thus achieve d an absolute majority in parliament in a truly landslide victory, tur ning around its fourth place in 1990, which gave it merely 10.98 perce nt of the total vote. Just as the ousting of the Communist Party in 19 90 came as no surprise, the defeat of the Hungarian Democratic Forum i n 1994 was equally to be expected. The magnitude of the victory of the Hungarian Socialist Party, however, was quite astounding. In this pap er, the results of the 1994 election are examined within the framework of the maturation of the Hungarian political system, the sociocultura l fragmentation of the society and the voters' attitudes towards moder nization. A comparison with the 1990 contest reveals some particular i nsights into the grassroots of the electoral geography of Hungary. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.