Hungary Watch Thread

[Yuli Ban]

Orbán wants a Chinese university in Hungary. Opponents see a chance to turn his nationalist rhetoric against him

A derelict plot on the banks of the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, might seem like an unusual epicenter for a political earthquake.

But that was before Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's populist government announced a controversial plan for a prestigious Shanghai university to open its first overseas campus there in 2024 -- which Hungarians would apparently pay for.
Now protests over the future of this nondescript site have galvanized Hungary's opposition, and united them in an attempt to topple Orbán's ruling party at next year's general election.
Since Orbán swept to power 11 years ago, there have been plenty of demonstrations in Budapest against his assault on democratic freedoms. The self-styled defender of Christian values in Europe has rolled back civil liberties, ranging from migrant and LGBTQ rights to media freedom, as well as judicial and academic independence.
Not that it's hurt Orbán's political fortunes. His right-wing Fidesz party has enjoyed landslide election wins, with no serious political challenger outside Budapest.
But the proposed Fudan University campus has become a potent issue.

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]

I find it interesting that it's the rightist nations that ally with China the most.

[Ozzie guy]

I find it interesting that it's the rightist nations that ally with China the most.

I know I am a broken record it's because China is rightist it's an imperialist power competing with the USA. Right after Mao's death the Marxists were arrested (gang of 4) the cultural revolution (which is to prevent the restoration of capitalism) was ended the people's communes were violently broken up and by 1979 privatisation started.

[weatheriscool]

Viktor Orban expected to win big majority in Hungarian general election
Source: The Guardian

Rightwinger and Putin ally heading for fourth term despite failure to condemn invasion of Ukraine
Robert Tait and Flora Garamvolgyi in Budapest
Sun 3 Apr 2022 15.00 EDT

Viktor Orbán’s right-wing nationalist government looked set for a fourth consecutive term on Sunday after unofficial polls showed it on course for another emphatic victory in Hungary in a general election dominated by rows over the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

With almost 50% of the votes counted, the ruling Fidesz party and its junior party, the Hungarian Christian Democrats (KDNP), were on course to win 133 seats in the 199-member parliament, according to the official national election office website.

That would be enough for the government to retain its two-thirds supermajority that has enabled it to radically restructure the country’s politics and social policies during its 12-year reign, transforming Hungary into a self-styled “illiberal democracy” that has flouted western norms and frequently been at odds with the EU.

The projected victory, if confirmed, comes despite mounting international criticism of Orbán for failing to wholeheartedly condemn Vladimir Putin over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

More in article

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... l-election

[caltrek]

'Dark Day for Democracy' in Hungary as Orbán Wins Dubious Reelection
by Brett Wilkins
April 4, 2021

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... reelection

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Democracy defenders on Monday warned of ominous consequences as right-wing Hungarian President Viktor Orbán was overwhelmingly elected to his fourth term in a contest progressive observers said was unfairly stacked against the opposition.

Péter Márki-Zay, leader of the opposition United for Hungary alliance and mayor of the southeastern town of Hódmezővásárhely, said that "we never thought this would be the result. We knew in advance that it would be an extremely unequal fight. We do not dispute that Fidesz won this election. That this election was democratic and free is, of course, something we continue to dispute."

According to the National Election Office, with nearly 99% of ballots counted Orbán's Fidesz-led coalition won 53.3% of the vote, while United for Hungary—a big-tent alliance whose members ranged from the right-wing Jobbik party to Hungary's Green Party—had 34.9%. The far-right Our Homeland Movement nearly doubled its 2019 showing to 6.2%, passing the 5% threshold for parliamentary representation.

Preliminary results point to a two-thirds parliamentary supermajority for Fidesz, whose members will occupy 135 seats to United for Hungary's 56.

Edit Zgut, a political scientist at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, told the Associated Press that "Hungary seems to have reached a point of no return," and that Orbán will now be empowered to move in an even more autocratic direction.

[wjfox]

EU launches process to slash Hungary’s funds over rule-of-law breaches

Hungary is the first country to face proceedings under the new power.

April 5, 2022 4:20 pm

The European Commission will soon trigger a powerful new mechanism to cut funding to Hungary for eroding the bloc’s rule-of-law standards, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday.

The announcement comes two days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán won a fourth consecutive term in an election that international observers said was marred by an uneven playing field benefiting the ruling Fidesz party. It’s a theme that has played out over Orbán’s decade-plus in power, during which civil liberties groups say the Hungarian leader has gradually taken control of democratic institutions and funneled taxpayer money to friends and family.

Von der Leyen said her team informed Hungary of its decision on Tuesday after reviewing Budapest’s responses to an informal letter the Commission sent last November asking for information on its rule-of-law concerns.

“We’ve carefully assessed the result of these questions,” von der Leyen said, speaking to the European Parliament. “Our conclusion is we have to move on [to] the next step.”

Hungary is the first country to face proceedings under the new power, which gives the EU the authority to cut millions in EU payouts to countries where it determines rule-of-law breaches are putting the bloc’s budget at risk. The Commission’s decision to move ahead could signal a turning point in Brussels’ willingness to go after wayward members accused of corruption and democratic backsliding.

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-comm ... t-hungary/

[caltrek]

The Worst People on the Planet Are Cheering the Reelection of Hungary’s Authoritarian Leader
by Noah Y. Kim
April 4, 2022

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... -election/

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Last night, Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán took the stage to crow about his fourth consecutive election as prime minister (and fifth election victory in total) and condemn the “overwhelming” list of people who had hoped for his defeat. In this list, he included: “The left at home, the international left all around, the Brussels bureaucrats, the [George] Soros empire with all its money, the international mainstream media, and in the end, even the Ukrainian president.”

It wasn’t a surprise that Orbán, an “illiberal” authoritarian and erstwhile Putin ally, would name among his enemies Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a leader who has become an international symbol of the fight for liberal democratic values. But Orban’s gloating remarks, delivered at a time when Ukraine was accusing Russia of massacring civilians in the town of Bucha, still made for a shocking and grim spectacle. Indeed, Orbán’s decisive victory over a united opposition led by provincial mayor Peter Marki-Zay illustrates that the Putin friendly illiberal right in Europe and the US, which seemed to falter after the Russian leader’s broadly unpopular invasion of Ukraine, has once again found its footing.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Orbán played down his friendly relationship with Putin and extended a welcome to millions of Ukrainian refugees—a startling reversal for one of the most anti-migrant governments in Europe. However, in recent weeks, Orbán has managed to spin anti-anti-Putinism into a viable political strategy, urging neutrality in the conflict and warning Hungarians that Marki-Zay’s promise to mend ties with the European Union would lead Hungary into war with Russia.

Marki-Zay, a conservative Catholic mayor from a mid-sized provincial town leading a united front of opposition parties, was widely viewed as the last best hope to dethrone Orbán, who has dominated Hungary’s political landscape through the post-communist era. Under Orbán’s rule, Hungary has become what the prime minister himself has approvingly described as an “illiberal democracy,” combining a hostility toward diversity, multiculturalism, and LGBTQ rights with one-party control over the state apparatus and a fervent embrace of nationalism and “Christian” values.

caltrek's comment: As the rest of the article makes clear, Orbán is a threat in that he is looked to as a model. A model of how a leader can be democratically elected, and then hollow out democracy from the inside. Something that Trump started to do during his presidency, and accelerated with his Big Lie based efforts at voter suppression and Republican party actions at seizing control of the actual counting of votes in many purple states. Essentially, democrat practices are being used to destroy democracy. People are voting away their right to vote. This, in order to install authoritarian types who adopt policies of the type embraced by Orbán.

[Xyls]

Breaking ranks with EU, Hungary says ready to pay for Russian gas in roubles

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hu ... 022-04-06/

Time for Hungary to get the boot from both the E.U. and NATO... and quite possibly get sanctioned too.. since Poland isn't on Hungary's side with this perfect time to do this... the fact the E.U. doesn't have an expulsion mechanism is stupid. As far as I'm concerned literally complicit with what is going on in Ukraine. Not only that but Hungarian nationalists have been wanting to reclaim parts of the Ukrainian border for years which might explain some of the aggression here.

[Cyber_Rebel]

Considering who they're siding with despite the atrocities committed, and the fact that "democracy" there might as well be dead, can the E.U. simply fast tract their removal?

And re-friend the United Kingdom while they're at it?

@caltrek

I think the term Democratic Fascism deserves some merit, while sounding akin to Democratic Socialism, but similar only in the goal of getting legislators/policies elected or enacted via ballots rather than outright coups or revolutions. Orban definitely takes from the Russo model in this approach. While all forms of corruption can be dangerous to democracy, these authoritarians have a more concentrated effort to do so, while feigning elections for show or legitimacy. At some point, the ruse needs to be called out or dropped for what it is.