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Heime Israel's avatar

Hummmm. As I read this, I thought I was reading about California and the Democrat Party there. I had to double check the headline several times. Orbán must have talked to the folks in California and stolen their playbook.

As for a captured "State Media", we certainly have that in the USA. We call it CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and even PBS, yet no one says 'boo' about it. The best we get is complaints that Tucker Carlson and/or Fox News are Russian puppets. These people certainly know what a puppet is alright.

The fact is the people of Hungary have spoken and spoken loudly. They want someone in power who means what he says and says what he means and that is Viktor Orbán.

Hungarians appreciated Orbán's message, and they trust him to deliver on it.

Is it wrong for people to want:

- Respect for a sovereign and secure Hungary denoted by REAL ENFORCED borders? or

- Respect for traditional Hungarian values (Yes, I know these sound very strange: family, hard-work, religion)? or

- To be left alone to pursue their lives?

Let's be honest, the discontent is largely driven by the Alphabet Mafia: LGBTQIA+. They want to completely upend society, including elimination of the traditional family structure. If you don't think so, then why are people required to believe that men can have babies too? Or let's look at the nomination of someone to the highest court in the most powerful country in the world who refused to define what a woman is because this person (a woman) said she's not a biologist.

The Hungarian people see this. They are not stupid, and they want no part of it at all - whether from Brussels or Washington.

For those who have not been there, the majority of Hungarian people are very poor. They truly have very little, but they are very generous people (probably to a fault) who appreciate what they do have. Outside of the few major Hungarian cities, these people face a very meager and difficult existence on a daily basis. I would love to see someone from the 'left' (whatever that means these days) try and tell one of these 'simple-minded' voters who have been 'captured by Orbán's rhetoric that the difference between a 'man' and 'woman' is the costume the individual chooses to wear. They would laugh in their face. Hungarians know better.

While I very much appreciate the author's right to her opinion and she is clearly entitled to express her views, I am only surprised by the fact that Orbán's margin of victory was not bigger.

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Luke Robson's avatar

"But the fact remains that in Hungary, even if the opposition does everything right, it is nearly impossible to replace Fidesz during elections. Since the party returned to power in 2010, the country has seen the deepest erosion of democracy in the European Union. Orbán has successfully manipulated Hungary’s system in order to translate popular support into an unbeatable electoral majority. He provides a textbook example of how autocrats can erode liberal democracy while facing minimal consequences."

This paragraph could be rephrased: "But the fact remains that in Hungary, even if the opposition [tries its hardest], it is nearly impossible to replace Fidesz during elections. Since the party returned to power in 2010, the country has [overwhelmingly supported Fidesz through the democratic process]. Orban has successfully [campaigned and garnered democratic support and has translated that support] into an unbeatable electoral majority. He provides a textbook example of how [elected officials can win elections by standing up for national interests in the face of international pressure]."

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