Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Has ‘illiberal’ Hungary set a path Americans should want to follow?

Has ‘illiberal’ Hungary set a path Americans should want to follow?

Hungary still has elections, so what’s the problem?
This was one of many questions on my mind in 2017 when I had the pleasure of traveling to that central European nation’s capital, Budapest (if you ever get the chance, go!).

Hungary’s president, Viktor Orban, had become notorious for his unapologetic undressing of democratic institutions — a distressing development for traditional (small “d”) democratic nations on both sides of the Atlantic.

Curiously, his followers (including many American conservatives) seemed to value his ability to wage cultural warfare more than deplore his leading role as a democracy killer.

Walking the streets of Budapest provided a chance to ask a few people what they thought of their strongman. A public rally headlined by the big guy himself offered me the opportunity to take note of peaceful protesters before wading into the crowd, trying to nudge my way forward for an up-close view.

Afterwards, Hungarian “news” accounts presented rosy depictions of the rally, with no mention of protesters (90% of Hungary’s media is controlled by Orban’s Fidesz Party; reporters who dare ask tough questions or attempt to investigate corruption face government harassment).

My street “survey” was hardly scientific, of course, but a hotel clerk spoke for many when he described Orban as “a bad man doing bad things.”

Notably, Orban was among a handful of global authoritarian luminaries who endorsed former U.S. President You Know Who before the 2016 election (Vladimir Putin, Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen and Kim Jong-un among the others).

Today, Orban is for some (certainly not all) conservatives a shining example of how to transform a western liberal democracy into an illiberal one.

To understand what this means, think of western liberal democracy as a three-legged stool, the legs being free and fair elections, independent judiciary and a robust two-party system. Orban kicked the legs out from under that stool.

His Fidesz Party did so by sharply redrawing Parliamentary voting districts and granting ethnic Hungarians living outside the nation the right to vote. Courts were packed with right-wing judges allied with Orban’s interests. Political friends were enriched with favors, earning paybacks from the business elite.

An impressive government propaganda machine was built, independent media outlets were bullied and diminished, education was undermined. Putin went from being a corrupt threat to Hungarian democracy to a friend and conduit for Russian investment.

With voter support, Hungary thus became an “illiberal” democracy. Elections became free but not fair, the judiciary was allied with the party in power, and a strong, nationalist one-party state became dominant (whether perpetually dominant remains to be seen as opposition is coalescing for an all-out campaign against Fidesz).

Orban successfully wooed voters by giving voice to (sometimes justifiable) grievances, exploiting democracy’s weaknesses, dressing ethnic nationalism up in “Christian” clothes, bestowing a veneer of righteousness to xenophobia.

If you’re a fan of Fox “News,” perhaps this sounds familiar.

Indeed, Fox viewers were recently entertained — perhaps inspired! — by the Extreme Makeover gifted Orban by right-wing spin-master Tucker Carlson during multiple nightly broadcasts from Budapest.

In Carlson’s cozy remake of Orban, we see a righteous man bent on establishing Budapest as an ideological center for international conservativism. Never mind Orban’s corrupt disinterest in the rule of law or his assault on press freedoms.

Hungary, Carlson opined, offers “a lot of lessons for the rest of us.”

Is one of those lesson that America, too, should become illiberal?

We’d still have elections, right? What’s the problem?
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
×