Hungary

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.

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?

This article tries to explain the anti-establishment position of Hungary’s new democratic movements. Seen from this perspective, the present state of affairs and prospects for the future appear rather bleak – but not entirely devoid of hope.

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.

Under it's new Prime Minister Robert Fico and his Smer party, Slovakia has become the second Central European country after Hungary with a one-party government in power. Grigorij Mesežnikov, political scientist and president of the Institute for Public Affairs, analyzes the stuctural parallels and characteristics of the neighbouring countries' current political situations and draws a cautiously optimistic outlook on the future of the strained Slovak-Hungarian relations.

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.

Kristóf Szombati analyzes the the difficulties and obstacles that Fidesz’s governance has created for itself and asks what this may spell for the future. According to Szombati, in order to assess the impact of forces that may push a governmental force down, it is necessary to formulate an idea of the forces that lifted it up and to ask for the expectations that Hungarian voters and international investors, money-lenders and politicians had vis-à-vis the new government.

Ever since Viktor Orbán came to power, Hungarian politics has resembled a football match where the captain of one team can change the rules at will, appoint the referees and even eject members of the opposing team from the game. Orbán writes laws that are crafted with surgical precision for individual persons or groups and uses intimidation and blackmail to push forward a change of elites and a redistribution of property.

In a recently published online article György Schöpflin, Hungarian political scientist and member of the European Parliament for Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, laments that foreign countries do not understand Hungary. For Schöpflin Hungary is a “small culture with its own very different language”, which is not heard by the rest of the world. Wolfgang Klotz, director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, analyzes the values of Hungary's conservatives.

Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán participated in a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The agenda included current political developments in Hungary. Shortly beforehand, the European Commission had launched three infringement proceedings against the country. The Hungarian prime minister had invited himself to this session.

Kristóf Szombati, program director at EcoPolis Foundation and co-founder of the Hungarian green party (LMP), looks at right-wing extremism through the lenses of the recent ethnic conflict in the village of Gyöngyöspata, which rocked the Hungarian political scene and also made international headlines.

Hungary’s new constitution, adopted without a referendum or the support of parties in opposition, came into force on the 1st of January 2012. In the last week of 2011 members of the ruling coalition – despite warnings from their fellow MPs and the country’s international partners – passed a number of bills which break the pillars of the liberal democratic edifice, erected just two decades ago to replace an authoritarian system of rule.

In other countries, the political control of the media is mainly effected through economic pressure. It seems that in Hungary this mechanism worked insufficiently, thus necessitating direct political control through legal means and a monopoly on the organs controlling the media. An article by

In December, the Hungarian Parliament passed a controversial media law to heavily fine radio and TV stations, newspapers, and websites whose reporting is considered to be "politically unbalanced.” The Hungarian author György Konrád discusses this new media law, his country’s EU Presidency, and resistance from the younger generation.

Hungary was long considered a model for democracy in the former Eastern Bloc countries. It currently hits the headlines because of the controversial media laws and other moves by the national conservative Fidesz party, which endanger essential elements of the constitutional framework.