What Orban’s Defeat Means for the Rest of the World
(www.nytimes.com)
from pete_link@lemmy.ml to world@lemmy.world on 13 Apr 15:56
https://lemmy.ml/post/45879697
from pete_link@lemmy.ml to world@lemmy.world on 13 Apr 15:56
https://lemmy.ml/post/45879697
April 13, 2026
On Sunday, it happened: Viktor Orban was defeated. In an election with the highest voter turnout in Hungarys democratic history, Peter Magyar’s Tisza Party won a two-thirds supermajority, enough to alter the constitution that Orban had rewritten to shore up his power.
Some admirers of Orban have argued that the fact that he lost proves he was never an autocrat to begin with. What it really demonstrates, however, is that opposition to Fidesz was so strong it was able to overwhelm all the structures Orban put in place to protect his rule: wildly distorted voting districts, a captured media, state-sponsored propaganda, local patronage networks, and widespread threats and intimidation.
#world
threaded - newest
This is encouraging, in that things in Hungary got bad enough to oust the dictator. Sadly, I think it will take the coming financial collapse to change enough minds to oust Trump, and that ouster can only happen if Trump is unable to cement his grip on power, which he is working hard to do.
The US would already have been in recession if it wasn’t pumping hundreds of billions into the hugely unprofitable AI bubble.
This recent blockade at Hormuz is another move to pump the US economy, since the US produces a lot of oil, and is also selling at the very high market rate.
That regular people are paying for it is just annoying details.
That little annoying detail is likely to cost them the midterms.
Because, apparently, despite everything their base has put up with already, high gas prices are the one thing they will not tolerate. They’re either very confident in their ability to cheat in the midterms, or they’ve made a very grave mistake.
hopefully they already have a plan on how to reverse the rules and constitutional changes implemented by orban. In order to change Hungarian constitution back to democratic rules. If they only start to discuss this now, it will be difficult to implement and impede the autocratic powers from gaining power ever again.
They’ve secured a supermajority, if my read of the results is right. So, the latitude for serious changes is pretty wide.
Why is my bullshit meter going off? All I’m hearing is about how Orban is bad, which I agree with. But I hear nothing of the other guy, and it’s making me think to the Yevgeny Prigozhin death, who IMHO, was an even worse option than Putin.
If you read the article, you would hear some things about the other guy. Half the article was about him.
To recap:
center-right instead of authoritarian-right
European/NATO/EU-aligned instead of Russian-aligned
Still anti-immigrant
Probably not pro-LGBT+, but seems to be a lot less anti-LGBT+ than Orban – Doesn’t show up for Pride events, but also doesn’t demonize LGBT+ people in every speech like Orban did.
No ties to Israel or Russia.
Promises to prosecute members of the Orban regime who enriched themselves at taxpayer expense.
A mixed bag, certainly. Could be better … but could also be worse. The important thing is that he’ll – hopefully – restore fair democracy in the country, undoing Orban’s corruption of the election process and giving others a fair chance at winning in the next election. So, hopefully, the next election could bring in somebody even better.
You’re right on all fronts about me, but in my defense, I’ve given up on the War Crimes Times. So I take it that’s it’s a bad, which is better than worse? And Orban supporters think that he lost because Orban wasn’t bad/authoritarian enough?
He’s not perfect, but perfect is the enemy of good. Sometimes a small w is all you’re going to get.
Everything I read about him, to me, reads as a controlled opposition / “alternative” and things will mostly be business as usual for him, with the caveat that his party is staunchly anti-government corruption, although I have seen anti-corruption gut perfectly good government offices and programs (looking at you DOGE and MUSKYBOI)
I don’t share the elation of everyone else, but I am also not Hungarian, my hopes and thoughts are with them.
Im so gunshy now soemthing like this does not mean enough until it goes for a year or so. I wonder if anyone else is effected by propoganda like I am. Like it turns me off. I sometimes wonder if they sow the seeds of defeat by projecting their message.