Democratic Coalition (Hungary)

The Democratic Coalition (Hungarian: Demokratikus Koalíció, DK) is a social-liberal^[1] political party in Hungary led by former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány's ex wife Klára Dobrev.

The party was created after some members of the Hungarian Socialist Party left and joined together to form a new group. DK wants to support democracy, social equality, and European values.^[2]

On October 5, 2010, Ferenc Gyurcsány told the Socialist Party leaders that he was starting a group called the Democratic Coalition within the party. He said he would create 'a wide, open community for 1989 Democrats' and represent them in politics. The meeting was calm, but some party leaders disagreed with him. Nevertheless, the plan went ahead.^[3]

The Democratic Coalition had its first meeting in St. Stephen Park in Budapest on 22 October 2010. The former prime minister's group became the seventh platform of the Socialist Party.^[4]

On October 22, 2011, Gyurcsány said he was leaving the Hungarian Socialist Party to form a new parliamentary group after getting enough lawmakers to support him. He explained that he left the Socialist Party because it had not changed enough. Socialist representatives strongly criticized Gyurcsány, who had promised the week before to stay in the party.

The Democratic Coalition chose Gyurcsány as its leader on November 6, 2011.^[5] At a press meeting, Gyurcsány stated that DK would be Hungary's 'most democratic party' where all members would vote directly for officials at the party meeting, and each member in the party's 12-member presidium and the chairman would have nearly equal power. The new party first got more than 3,800 membership applications.

In September 2013, the Socialist Party refused to make an election deal with DK and the Hungarian Liberal Party because both asked for too much compared to their voter support. Attila Mesterházy, the Socialist leader, said at a meeting at the party's office, shown on the news channel ATV, that to win next year's election, the Socialist Party needed to appeal to unsure voters. He noted that the party decided running with Gyurcsány would turn away these voters.^[6]

In the 2014 European election, DK got 9.75% of the votes and elected two MEPs.^[7] On May 26, 2014, Csaba Molnár said that DK had asked to join the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.^[8]

The party acted independently in the 2018 parliamentary election, gaining 5.38% of the votes and electing 9 members to the National Assembly.^[9]

In the 2019 European election, DK did well, getting 16.08%, surpassing the Socialist Party and Jobbik, and became the top opposition party.^[10]In the 2019 local elections, the party performed best in Tatabánya and Budapest, winning 3 district mayor positions.

In 2020, DK gained two more mayorships in Budapest when two mayors, who were elected as Socialist candidates, joined the Democratic Coalition. This made DK the second largest party in the General Assembly of Budapest (after the Fidesz–KDNP alliance) and the largest in the opposition coalition in charge in Budapest.

In late 2020, the party created the United for Hungary election group with the Momentum, Socialists, Jobbik, Dialogue and the LMP.^[11] The alliance won 34.44% of the vote, and of the 57 opposition seats won, DK won the most, 15.

After a lost election, Klára Dobrev shared a shadow government plan in September 2022 at her party's request. In her speech, Dobrev stated that 12 years of poor management and a total lack of skill meant the only way out of the crisis was for Viktor Orbán and his government to go. She claimed that the crisis was mainly caused by the Orbán government, not the Russian-Ukrainian war. The aim of forming the shadow government was to present skilled politicians.^[12]

In the local and European elections on June 9, 2024, the party joined with the Socialist Party and the Dialogue. The election results were the worst ever for the old opposition parties, including DK, because of Péter Magyar and his party, the Respect and Freedom Party, which gained many opposition voters, even from DK, the strongest opposition party before. In the European elections, the party alliance won two of the 21 seats.^[13]

Klára Dobrev said on Facebook that the shadow government's job will finish after the disappointing European elections in 2024. The party's EP list leader stated they need to find new ways to reach opposition voters.

Péter Magyar, the leader of the Respect and Freedom Party, urged the government to hold early elections in his speech released on New Year's Day 2025. Ferenc Gyurcsány stated in his video on January 3 that he would start the process to dissolve the National Assembly early and call for by-elections, even though it was already clear when Péter Magyar mentioned the issue that the legal requirements for an early election were not met.^[14]

On May 8, 2025, Klára Dobrev suddenly said that her husband Ferenc Gyurcsány would leave politics, step down as party leader, and that they would get a divorce.^[15][16][17] The exact reason for his retirement was not shared, but many thought it was because Gyurcsány's personality was causing division. Reports said that many in the party wanted Gyurcsány to leave after support for the party dropped in recent months.^[18]

Klára Dobrev was elected the new president of DK on June 2.^[16]