Hungary’s Cautionary Tale: How Autocrats Broke Democracy

“Hungary is actually an incubator where experiments are done on the future of conservative policies....We didn’t just talk about defeating the progressives and liberals and causing a conservative Christian political turn, but we actually did it."
- Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, May 4, 2023

"About the Don’t Say Gay law [signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis], it was, in fact, modeled in part after what Hungary did.”
- Rod Dreher, senior editor of The American Conservative, April 13, 2022

”[Hungary is a] small country in Central Europe that has a lot of lessons for us."
- Tucker Carlson, Fox News, January 19, 2022

At the turn of this century, Hungary was a celebrated model of post-Soviet, Western-style democracy. Today, after 13 years under Viktor Orbán’s leadership, the longest-serving current head of any EU member country, it is being called by the EU’s European Parliament an “electoral autocracy,” condemning the “deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government” to undermine European values.

Perhaps of most concern for the leadership of Europe: Hungary is scheduled to assume the Presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2024. That puts “strongman” Orbán in charge of an essential EU decision-making body.

How did this former proponent of liberal democracy become an icon to far-right Christian nationalists around the world and in the US? How did this onetime radical firebrand who first gained fame demanding the expulsion of Soviet forces become one of Vladimir Putin's staunchest allies -- referred to by some as a "Trojan horse for Russia?"

Do Orbán and his majority Fidesz party serve the best interests and desires of the people? Or is he the godfather of a criminal organization built on conspiracy theories about the European Union, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, George Soros and others? Is Viktor Orbán's Hungary, in fact, a cautionary tale for those who believe in free, representative, multi-political party democracy?

To explore these questions and more, CITIZENARTS presents a panel of three knowledgeable and distinguished Hungarians whose expertise includes sociology, government, foreign policy and academia. Join us for a dynamic  discussion with Borbala Kriza, Bálint Magyar and Zsuzsanna Szelényi in Hungary’s Cautionary Tale: How Autocrats Broke Democracy.

EPISODE NOTES: More about Hungary’s Cautionary Tale: How Autocrats Broke Democracy, including biographies of Borbala Kriza, Bálint Magyar and Zsuzsanna Szelényi can be found at www.citizenartscreative.org/hungary

Additional reading:
“Putin and Orban reaffirm Russian-Hungarian ties amid international strains” https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-putin-holds-talks-with-hungarys-orban-china-2023-10-17/

“At CPAC, Hungary’s Viktor Orban decries LGBTQ+ rights, migration” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/at-cpac-hungarys-viktor-orban-decries-lgbtq-rights-migration

Photo credit: James I. Gabbe

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