The Impact of COVID-19 on Political Finance in Hungary

Abstract

This paper focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to fight off the pandemic influenced the political parties’ financial opportunities in Hungary. In order to provide context, relevant questions regarding the everyday life and operation of parties are also addressed. As an introduction, the first part of the paper provides a brief overview of the legal responses to the pandemic, then the second part paper summarizes the existing legislative framework of political finance in Hungary, enumerating the shortcomings of the system, as well as considering the recommendations made by international organizations and domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The third part is an analysis of those provisions on party finance, which were introduced by the government since April 2020 with regard to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The analysis is based on desk research and empirical data collected from representatives of the political parties by questionnaires.

Keywords: party finance, campaign finance, COVID-19, Hungary, Orban