A small-town mayor takes on Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban

UNTIL A FEW weeks ago only political junkies knew who Peter Marki-Zay was. That changed with his unexpected victory on October 17th in the run-off of the first-ever primary for the Hungarian opposition. The 49-year-old mayor of Hodmezovasarhely, a smallish and almost unpronounceable town in south-eastern Hungary, was elected by supporters of six parties as their candidate to try to replace Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, at parliamentary elections next April.“We won the battle, but we need to win the war,” said Mr Marki-Zay, a conservative Catholic not affiliated with any party, at a rally in Budapest. Several politicians stood next to him, as did several relatives (he is a father of seven). Notably absent was his rival, Klara Dobrev, a vice-president of the European Parliament. Ms Dobrev merely acknowledged her defeat and pledged to support Mr Marki-Zay in his quest to remove Mr Orban from power.