Hungary April 2018 Elections and Viktor Orban Essay

Introduction

Hungary past can be traced back to the Magyars, a group of semi-nomadic tribes from the Black Sea coast and southern Russia who arrived in the region in a ninth century. The country developed to be a powerful segment of medieval, Ottoman and Habsburg kingdoms. After the First World War, Hungary became an independent country and served for decades under communist rule. However, the reform brought about by communist elites lead to a democratic transition in Hungary. In the last few decades, Hungary has managed to establish a democratic political system, which has been cemented on successive democratic governance. The national elections are held every four years and the elected members of parliament vote for the prime minister. In April 2018 elections, the incumbent Prime Minister Victor Orban, who was seeking a fourth term in office faced substantial resentment within the society bruising his campaign (Biro-Nagy, 2018). The agendas of Prime Minister Orban and his ruling party revolved around moral, political, legal, and migration amendments. Therefore, this paper will discuss the Hungarian parliamentary election in 2018, the new anti-immigrant leader Victor Orban and the impact of Hungary politics on other nations.

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Hungarian Parliamentary Election in April 2018

The 2018 Hungarian parliamentary election in April marked a victory for Fidesz-KDNP Alliance, which preserved a two-thirds majority with Viktor Orban retaining the prime minister position (Kettley, 2018). During the campaign, the alliance focused on the issues of immigration and foreign interference in Hungary. The agendas of the alliance made Prime Minister Orban thrill in both domestic and European political debates in the name of illiberal democracy. After the elections, Jobbik Party became the second largest party and its leaders had a strong stance against migration hardline. The spying allegations, fake news, counter-leaks and corruption scandals associated with the ruling party made the campaigns intense with a number of European nations supporting the opposition group. The challenges and expectations of voters were expected to work in favor of the opposition but to the surprise of the European nation, Fidesz cruised to victory.

After the elections, Hungary has continued taking radical steps towards establishing an authoritarian political setting. According to Fidesz alliance, the elections were not only a determiner of the country's future for the next four years but it was also an essential stage in transforming Hungary leadership, politics and economy. Consequently, by considering the positive feedback and turnout of voters during the election, it was expected that Prime Minister Orban would persist with his style of governance as he was assured of the required legitimacy from the national assembly. Repositioning Hungary in Europe was key among the agendas of Obran administration (Kettley, 2018). Similar to the Czech Republic and Poland, Hungary had challenged several decisions made by the European Union especially on quotas of refugees.

The New Anti-Immigrant Leader Viktor Orban

Viktor Orban has positioned himself in the European politics as an advocate for anti-immigration policies. According to Orban, thousands of immigrants are in their journey to richer Western European nations like Germany and the United States. The immigrants have been using less wealthy but stable countries to access their destinations. Majority of the immigrants are neither in fear of their lives nor are they refugees but are in search of better life making them economic migrants. As a result, Orban has continued to rise against the refugee resettlement quotas policies supported by several developed nations (Mudde, 2018). In Hungary, the immigrants have been considered as a threat to Christianity and national values. Therefore, the victory of Viktor Orban has been grim news to Western Europe as the division has been deepening between liberal and nationalist member states.

The anti-immigrant campaign is a preventive mechanism of restricting Muslim immigrants and refugees from overwhelming Hungary. Orban has repeatedly positioned himself as a defender of European traditional Christian identity. The claim has been resonated by over 2.5 million voters but it has intensified friction with the European Union. Orban likened the increasing cases of immigration to rust which might take time but will eventually corrode. The persecution of Christians in the Middle East has been his reference claiming that Christian in Europe might suffer from a similar fate. Hungary, therefore, has condemned the European Union support for immigration as it allows extremists and dangerous immigrants into the European territories. Orban has also condemned a group of European intellectuals and political leaders aimed at creating a mixed society and who have constantly condemned his transformative leadership. Hungary believes that the integration would alter the cultural and ethnic composition of the continent and its Christian identity.

Viktor Orban Triumph and Impact on Foreign Countries' Politics

They are numerous factors that made Viktor Orban retain the prime minister position in Hungary despite critics from foreign nations. Among them is that he had mastered the domestic politics for over ten years positioning himself in a better position as compared to the opposition leaders. For instance, Orban knew that Christianity dominated and he lured its citizens to vote for him by initiating policies directly preventing them from expanding Islamic religion (Biro-Nagy, 2018). Also, the government had taken control over media outlets and withdrawn licenses linked to opposition parties and leaders. As a result, his action was not criticized even though they are oppressive and illiberal. The migration agenda was also at the heart of Hungarians who were against taxpayer's money being used to fund resettlement programs. Hungary has been one of the main beneficiaries of European Union Refugee Funds scheme but Orban had influenced the nation against the influence and the impacts Muslims and other refugees would bring.

Viktor Orban has been an essential figure in protecting Hungary from Brussels, the United Nation and George Soro a reputable financier and advocate for refugee in Europe (Stephen, 2018). In fact, the prime minister has outmanoeuvred all his political rivals domestically. Today, he is setting out to influence the politics of European nations. Some of the neighboring nations including Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic has reflected on Hungary April elections as a substantial step towards attaining free and independent nation especially in the developing world (Kettley, 2018). On the other hand, some of the developed nations have doomed Fidesz and its leaders for failing to support multiculturalism and migration policies under the European Union.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the political, economic and social setting in Hungary is an example of the turn of events in developing nations. The third world countries are still struggling to be stable despite the worldwide campaigns in support of democracy and human rights. Some leaders such as Viktor Orban have imposed themselves in leadership fighting any form of opposition. Consequently, the core of democratic leadership has been interchanged with authoritarian and illiberal governance.

References

Biro-Nagy, A. (2018). Why Orban Won. Retrieved fromhttps://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/hungary/2018-04-10/why-orban-won

Kettley, S. (2018). Hungary election: Anti-EU Offensive mounts as Warsaw claims 'Orban is apath to freedom'. Retrieved fromhttps://www.express.co.uk/news/world/942812/Hungary-election-2018-Viktor-Orban-EU-European-Union

Mudde, C. (2018). Orban's Hungary is not the future of Europe: it represents a dying past | CasMudde. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/10/orban-election-Hungary-Europe-future-past

Stephen, W. (2018). Viktor Orban: Only Fidesz can protect Hungary from Brussels, the UN, andGeorge Soros. Retrieved from https://budapestbeacon.com/viktor-orban-only-fidesz-can-protect-Hungary-from-Brussels-the-un-and-George-Soros/