Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Budapest’s new mayor and the redemocratisation of Hungary

Stephen Pogány 31st October 2019

Local elections in Hungary have placed a question-mark over the durability of the ‘illiberal democracy’ of Viktor Orbán.

Hungary
Stephen Pogány

Since Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party returned to power in 2010, many commentators have noted Hungary’s regression from a fledgling liberal democracy to a right-wing, authoritarian, stridently-nationalist state. Under Orbán’s premiership power has been concentrated in the hands of the prime minister and his associates, while constitutional checks and balances—including judicial independence and oversight—have been progressively eroded.

As far back as 2012, when Orbán and Fidesz had barely embarked on the task of turning Hungary into an ‘illiberal democracy’, the political scientist András Bozóki commented that ‘[l]iberal democracy … has been replaced with a wrecked version of “majority” rule … where the freedom of speech is limited by self-censorship (people do not speak up, for fear of losing their jobs) and press freedom is clearly being reduced to the blogosphere’. More recently, Bozóki’s colleague at the Central European University Matthijs Bogaards has referred to the ’de-democratization’ of Hungary.

Influence extended

Aside from the role of the Orbán administration and allied business interests in drastically reducing the number of mainstream platforms (newspapers, radio and television) for independent journalism in Hungary, Orbán and Fidesz have gradually extended their influence over the country’s cultural and intellectual life, as well as education.

As a result of legislation enacted by Hungary’s Fidesz-dominated parliament, the prestigious Central European University (CEU) has had to relocate the bulk of its teaching from Budapest to Vienna, while a recent law has severely curtailed the autonomy of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. State-approved textbooks introduced in Hungarian schools endorse the prime minister’s views on such topics as multiculturalism, while senior appointments in key cultural institutions, including theatres and museums, often appear to owe more to the ideological orientation of the successful applicants than to professional experience or intrinsic ability.

Orbán and Fidesz have gone to enormous lengths to ensure that their populist, ‘Christian’ and starkly chauvinist vision is embraced by opinion-formers across various sectors and that potential centres of intellectual or cultural opposition are enfeebled or neutralised.



Don't miss out on cutting-edge thinking.


Join tens of thousands of informed readers and stay ahead with our insightful content. It's free.



Dramatic and unexpected

In view of the apparent ease with which Orbán and Fidesz have succeeded in realising their political project in this decade, the losses suffered in this month’s local elections by the governing party across Hungary were all the more dramatic and unexpected.

To Fidesz’s evident surprise, Gergely Karácsony, co-president of the diminutive Dialogue for Hungary, decisively defeated the incumbent mayor of Budapest, István Tarlos. Karácsony, whose candidature was supported by five opposition parties, also including the left-leaning Hungarian Socialist Party and the centrist Momentum, obtained almost 51 per cent of the votes, compared with just over 44 per cent for Tarlos, who had the backing of Orbán and Fidesz.

Karácsony’s success was replicated elsewhere. Mayoral candidates endorsed by an alliance of opposition parties triumphed in 14 of Budapest’s 23 districts. By contrast, in 2014 all but six districts in Budapest had voted for Fidesz-supported mayors. A similar pattern was evident in the provinces, particularly in many of the larger towns. Opposition parties achieved numerous successes against Fidesz mayors where they were willing to endorse a single candidate.

Damaged aura

The local-election results have clearly damaged the aura of invincibility Orbán and Fidesz enjoyed, while emboldening Hungary’s opposition parties. Although it’s much too early to make confident predictions, the striking gains by opposition candidates in the capital and key provincial towns suggest Orbán and Fidesz can be removed from power in parliamentary elections to be held in 2022—provided that the opposition parties continue to collaborate closely.

The results also give reason to hope that Fidesz’s fear-mongering, anti-EU, anti-George-Soros, anti-migrant and anti-globalist rhetoric is starting to have less impact on Hungarian voters—as compared with concerns about the state of schools, hospitals and public transport, and widespread dismay at the corruption, arrogance and sense of entitlement of many senior Fidesz politicians. Recent revelations about the dissolute lifestyle and alleged corrupt practices of Zsolt Borkai, then Fidesz’s mayor in the important industrial city of Győr, scarcely helped to bolster support for party candidates across the country.

As the philosopher and veteran political activist Gáspár Miklós Tamás remarked recently, Orbán may also be a victim of his own success. By pursuing tough and uncompromising measures which have prevented ‘migrants’ and asylum-seekers from entering Hungary in significant numbers, it has become increasingly difficult for Orbán and Fidesz to frighten voters with the spectre of an ‘invasion’ by Muslims and other foreigners.

Caution

Jubilation amongst Orbán’s many detractors, in Hungary and abroad, should however be tempered by caution and an understanding of the character and situation of Hungary’s premier. As Paul Lendvai noted in the final chapter of his 2017 political biography of Orbán, ‘it is going to be a long, hard road ahead to break Orbán’s grip on power’. He went on:

His decisive leadership is backed by a willingness (sometimes explicitly affirmed) to use force, if necessary, against ‘the enemies of the state’. Nobody knows how far Viktor Orbán … will go to avoid giving up power, with all its consequences for him, his family and his cronies.

Orbán’s undiminished appetite for power, his tactical skill and proven ruthlessness—allied to probable concerns on the part of Hungary’s prime minister that loss of office would trigger an investigation into the extent of his, his family’s and his associates’ assets (and of the manner in which they were acquired)—suggest that, as general elections draw closer, there will be an epic, brutal political struggle between Fidesz and the opposition parties. The capacity of the latter to remain united and resolute—as well as the electorate’s ability to distinguish misinformation from verifiable facts—will be fully put to the test.

‘Soros empire’

In the aftermath of the local elections, the Fidesz-aligned media asserted that Budapest’s new mayor, Karácsony, served the interests of ‘Brussel’s left-liberal elite’ and the ‘Soros empire’, rather than the needs of ordinary Hungarians. Similarly, the Fidesz media tried to explain the party’s reverses as the consequence of sinister machinations on the part of Soros-funded NGOs and the ‘Soros university’ (the CEU).

In the run-up to the 2022 general elections, Orbán and Fidesz will no doubt continue to recycle tried-and-tested conspiracy theories of external interference in Hungary’s domestic affairs—presenting Fidesz as the champion of ‘real’ Hungarians and the opposition parties as the tools of predatory, powerful and malign foreign interests.

Stephen Pogány
Stephen Pogány

Stephen Pogány is emeritus professor in the School of Law, University of Warwick. His latest book is Modern Times: The Biography of a Hungarian-Jewish Family (2021).

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u421983d2 3 The EU’s Landmark Mercosur Deal Promises Much But Delivers LittleSimela Papatheophilou, Werner Raza and Bernhard Tröster
u4219834af 1 Will Denmark Lead Europe Towards a Super-Rich Tax?Isabelle Brachet
611e8de7e149c8763c9d58fc537549c18d20044a0abfeadd41919a1a731b6e64 Britain Rediscovers Europe as Macron and Merz Lead a Democratic ReawakeningPolly Toynbee
u42198346b1 1 Europe’s Appeasement Dilemma: The Price of Standing Against PutinFrank Hoffer

Most Popular Articles

u4219834676 bcba 6b2b3e733ce2 1 The End of an Era: What’s Next After Globalisation?Apostolos Thomadakis
u4219834675 4ff1 998a 404323c89144 1 Why Progressive Governments Keep Failing — And How to Finally Win Back VotersMariana Mazzucato
09d21a9 The Future of Social Democracy: How the German SPD can Win AgainHenning Meyer
u421983462 041df6feef0a 3 Universities Under Siege: A Global Reckoning for Higher EducationManuel Muñiz

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

BlueskyXWhatsApp