Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian experiment runs out of steam
Viktor Orbán’s Hungarian experiment runs out of steam
After 16 years of leadership, Viktor Orbán’s political model has been dubbed an “experiment” — though the term felt insufficient for the leader himself. He avoided labeling it as “illiberal democracy,” which carried a critical tone, and his Western allies preferred “national conservatism,” a more palatable moniker. Yet neither fully captured the essence of his rule, which blended radicalism with traditionalism in ways that defied easy categorization.
Orbán, ever the maverick, consistently pushed boundaries. He openly dismissed the “Brussels bureaucrats,” positioning himself as a defiant figure against European mainstream policies. His tactics, however, were shrewd: when faced with opposition, he reframed setbacks as strategic advantages. He cast himself as an “anti-globalist” while simultaneously welcoming foreign investments from Germany’s automotive sector and Chinese and South Korean battery manufacturers. This duality underscored his ability to shape narratives while maintaining economic ties.
His vision of national sovereignty was selective. While he championed it, he hesitated to defend it in practice, notably by allowing Russia to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Similarly, his rhetoric on immigration focused on restriction, yet his policies quietly encouraged arrivals from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Ukraine, and Turkey to support industrial growth. These contradictions highlighted the complexity of his governance.
By 2025, the fertility rate in Hungary had dropped to 1.31 — a figure Orbán had inherited from the previous Socialists but failed to improve. The swift concession he made on Sunday night suggested a keen awareness of public sentiment. His approach, described as “majoritarian,” emphasized the winner taking all, a philosophy he applied to reshape Hungary’s legal, electoral, and economic systems through sweeping reforms.
Orbán’s grip on power was fortified by a two-thirds parliamentary majority, allowing him to rewrite the constitution and consolidate his party’s influence. Yet, the electorate’s decisive rejection of his model signaled a turning point. Péter Magyar, the challenger, won by embodying a different message — one that emphasized inclusivity and a return to stability. His success was rooted in the fatigue of a population worn down by ongoing conflict and economic disparity, where the wealthy grew richer, the poor struggled, and the middle class shrank.
“Tonight we celebrate,” he told the huge crowds, dancing on the shores of the Danube. “But tomorrow, we start work.”
