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Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has projected fifteen to twenty years of governance in a “central political space”, rather than the customary shifts of power between left and right. In the elections 2010, Fidesz had the support of roughly half of all voters, and during its first half-year the new government enjoyed strong public approval. But since then the political landscape has changed dramatically.

Despite international criticism of the undemocratic developments in Hungary, Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer could not resist rolling out the red carpet for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during his visit to Munich in March 2012.

After brutal attacks against African refugees in conjuncion with a demonstration at Tel Aviv's HaTikva, high-ranking politicans of the Israeli governement are demanding a tougher action against illegal immigrants. But there are also more and more voices that support more agreeable solutions.

Hungary's former president Pal Schmitt's loyalty to Fidesz and Mr Orbán was so exaggerated that he wasn't taken seriously as an autonomous political figure. With János Áder Fidesz and Mr Orbán have chosen long-time party member, who is perceived as a more independent figure. But how autnonmous is the new president really? 

The EU is dependent on intact democracies in the member states - if the EU wants to be democratic it cannot be indifferent to its democratically constituted members. But what options are available for influencing Hungary? And who are the relevant actors for a democratic change in the country?

On May 19th, two unknown assailants attacked an exhibition by photographer Yevgenia Belorusets at the Centre for Visual Cultural Research (VCRC) in Kiev. The artist's photoworks are dedicated to the lives of Ukrainian LGBT and Queer families, who have to deal with harassment and threats of violence on a daily basis. It's not the first time that the center, which is under constant danger of being closed down by the authorities, is a target of censorship.

In the 1990s, Hungary was considered a role model for the socialist transformation of centrally planned economies in Eastern Europe. Today, economic growth in Hungary is lower, and public and private debt are considerably higher, than in other East Central European countries. The country was led into this plight by politicians who concealed the real situation with irresponsible populism, delayed reforms, and promised the moon.   

For twenty years, the Hungarian political system was a liberal democracy characterised by a multiparty system, free elections, free media and independent courts. But in the past years the country has returned to an authoritarian system. Andras Bozoki, former Minister of Culture between 2005 and 2006 takes a closer look at Hungary's transition away from democracy.

The new Hungarian Constitution disempowers the political community, curtails  fundamental rights and confronts citizens with the prospect of having to live in a state which exhibits authoritarian tendencies in general. But fatalism is not an option.

The Hungarian political system rests on a powerfully centralised party machine, a viable alternative is not in sight. The opposition is scattered and lacks of democratic structures and identity. What are potential sources for a democrativ change? László Lengyel and Eszter Nova (Financial Research Institute in Budapest) about possible sources of change in a country not used to democratic self-defence.