12/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - Wilfried Martens, the leader of the European People's Party (EPP) has welcomed the outcome of the first round of voting in the Hungarian general elections held on Sunday 11 April, which brought a clear victory (53%) for the Fidesz Party of Viktor Orbán who is expected to become the country's new prime minister after the second round on 25 April. “After a long period of bad governance and manipulation by the Socialists, Hungarians have given their full trust to Fidesz and Viktor Orbán,” Martens said in a press release. Orbán, who is also the deputy leader of the EPP, will thus become the 14th current head of government belonging to the EPP. The Greens group in the European Parliament hailed the fine performance of the Hungarian Greens (LMP) who, with 7.43% of the vote, recorded the best score ever by an environmentalist party in Central and Eastern Europe. For Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Rebecca Harms, this result was an “encouraging sign” which shows that the Greens are gaining ground in the new EU member states. The two joint leaders of the group expressed their concern, however, at the spectacular gains made by the extreme right Jobbik party, well known for its racist views, which took 16.71% of the vote, and will enter parliament for the first time. (H.B./transl.rt)