He has also led the Fidesz political party since , and previously from to He was re-elected as prime minister in , , and On 29 November , he became the country's longest-serving prime minister. During his first term as prime minister and head of the conservative coalition government , from to , inflation and the fiscal deficit shrank, and Hungary joined NATO.
Since , when he resumed office, his policies have undermined democracy , weakened judicial independence , increased corruption, and curtailed press freedom in Hungary. He frequently styles himself as a defender of Christian values in the face of the European Union , which he claims is anti-nationalist and anti-Christian.
His portrayal of the EU as a political foeβas he accepts its money and funnels it to his allies and relativesβhas led to accusations that his government is a kleptocracy. In January , he abandoned his project at Oxford and returned to Hungary with his family to run for a seat in Hungary's first post-communist parliament. In his speech, he demanded free elections and the withdrawal of Soviet troops which brought him to national prominence and announced the existence of Fidesz.
On returning home from Oxford, he secured the first spot on the Fidesz candidate list ahead of Fodor and was elected Member of Parliament from Pest County at the April election. Under his leadership, Fidesz gradually transformed from a radical liberal student organization to a center-right people's party. The conservative turn caused a severe split in the membership.
His party gradually became dominant in the right-wing of the political spectrum, while the former ruling conservative Hungarian Democratic Forum MDF had lost much of its support.
