Where did all the environmentalism go? ‘Politics can be different’ (LMP) in the 2018 Hungarian parliamentary elections

In April 2018, Lehet Más a Politika (LMP) reinforced its position as the strongest Green party in Central and Eastern Europe, passing the 5% parliamentary threshold for the third time and becoming the sole opposition party to gain votes. In the preceding 4 years, LMP had dealt with the resignation of its most visible co-chair András Schiffer and rebranded itself as an anti-corruption critic of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government, which distracted from the environmental issues. LMP resisted electoral coordination with other parties; consequently, Fidesz gained another supermajority, exploiting the distorted election system it established in 2011, which penalized a divided opposition. LMP, post-election, suffered deep intra-party tensions and the departure of prominent LMP politicians including its co-chairs.