Fidesz and the Reinvention of the Hungarian Center-Right I have lived outside
Hungary since my childhood but have been a frequent visitor to Budapest
following the transition to democracy. Since little is known about Fidesz?s
development in the West this book fills a gap in explaining to the Western
reader what the party stands for. I?seek to answer the question how Fidesz
succeeded in establishing itself as the leader of the center-right and how its
sweeping victory in the national elections came about. I?use Fidesz as a case
study to illustrate for party systems in general how a party can act as a
successful political entrepreneur and restructure the party system by building
upon and creating cleavages that serve as a basis for a political identity. The
key to Fidesz?s success in establishing itself as a broadly based people?s party
was that it was able to adjust to the rapidly changing political landscape.