Viktor Orban, Hungary’s thrice-elected prime minister, dominates his country’s politics. Recently reelected with a two-thirds parliamentary majority (for the second time), he has a claim to be the most successful conservative leader in Europe. Outside Hungary, however, he is portrayed — usually but not solely by politicians and media of the Left — as a Putin-style authoritarian who is demolishing democracy right by right; a poster child for populist authoritarianism in civilian mufti.
My skeptical take on this can be found in the current Hungarian Review. It was uphill work, however, not least because Orban recently delivered a speech in which he seemingly repudiated liberal democracy and embraced “illiberal democracy” instead. That was interpreted, not unreasonably, as a confirmation of the Left’s hostile critique from the horse’s mouth.
Comments