The Hungarian Ruse

Commentary feature in which the author suggested that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's power stems from its recognition that it was not enough to follow Europe, one had to form it as well.

Hungarian liberal and left-wing parties portrayed Europe in a static way, as if the European Union were not facing any problems. This, however, did not reflect the first hand experiences of voters. The opposition parties should speak more about the current debates on Europe and what alternative suggestions have arisen to solve current problems. Talking about Europe (and its difficulties) in a more courageous and open way, introducing the public to what it thinks about the present and future of EU, could be key to shifting public opinion towards them.

• Primary Source

The Conversation, 08.08.17: Democracy is on the brink in Hungary, so why is no one talking about it? (et al) http://www.europeansources.info/record/democracy-is-on-the-brink-in-hungary-so-why-is-no-one-talking-about-it/

LSE EuroppBlog [Blog]: Why the media helps make Hungarian elections so predictable http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/02/07/why-the-media-helps-make-hungarian-elections-so-predictable/

ECFR: Commentary, 04.04.18: Hungary in the EU: From front runner to veto player http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_hungary_in_the_eu_from_front_runner_to_veto_player

LSE EuroppBlog [Blog]: Experiments in the laboratory of populism: The 2018 Hungarian election http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/03/26/experiments-in-the-laboratory-of-populism-the-2018-hungarian-election/

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