Hungarian Radical Party

The Hungarian Radical Party (Hungarian: Magyar Radikális Párt, MRP) was a political party in Hungary in the period after World War II. The party was revived after the end of communism in 1989–90, but remained unsuccessful.

Hungarian Radical Party Magyar Radikális Párt
First leader	Imre Csécsy
Last leader	Mihály Rózsa
Founded	3 March 1945 (1st) 3 March 1989 (2nd)
Dissolved	1949 (officially existed) (1st) 21 October 1998 (2nd)
Newspaper	Haladás
Ideology	Social liberalism Anti-communism
Political position	Left-wing
Politics of Hungary Political parties Elections

History

The party was founded in November 1944 by Imre Csécsy, although it was not organised properly until the spring of 1945.[1] In the parliamentary elections that year it received just 0.1% of the vote, failing to win a seat.[2] The 1947 elections saw the party increase its vote share to 1.7%, winning six seats.

Prior to the 1949 elections it was forced to join the Communist-led Hungarian Independent People's Front. The Front ran a single list chosen by the Hungarian Working People's Party, with MRP members winning four seats.[2] Following the elections the party ceased to function, although was not officially dissolved.[2]

Parliamentary representation

Election year	National Assembly				Government
	#of overall votes	% of overall vote	#of overall seats won	+/–
1945	5,763	0.12% (#6)	0 / 409		extra-parliamentary
1947	85,535	1.71% (#8)	6 / 411	6	in opposition
1949^1	5,478,515	97.1%	4 / 402	2	in government

¹MRP was a member of the Communist-led Hungarian Independence People's Front (MFN). Hungary became a one-party state after the 1949 election.

References

1. Mária Palasik (2011) Chess Game for Democracy: Hungary Between East and West, 1944-1947, McGill-Queen's Press, p40
2. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p931 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7