A DISTURBING REPUBLICAN VISION FOR AMERICA

  

The claim that the small Eastern European country of Hungary has become a Republican political utopia, to be replicated in America, seems ridiculous. How could a nation with a population of less than 10 million and a short history of European style parliamentary government have anything to offer the conservative right in the United States?

Yet, Donald Trump and his minions have often embraced Hungary’s elected Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, as a model to emulate. Recently, Tucker Carlson, the Fox News commentator, moved his show to Hungary for a week. He visited with Mr. Orban and gushed about his achievements. This year, the Conservative Political Action Conference, an influential annual gathering of conservatives in America, will be held in Budapest.

 Last summer, the conservative NYT columnist, Ross Douthat wrote, “Orban’s interventions in Hungarian cultural life, the attacks on liberal academic centers and the spending on conservative ideological projects are seen as examples of how political power might curb progressive influences.”  If the Republican Party finds in Orban an exemplary political figure, it makes sense to review his policies and political philosophy. Who is Viktor Orban, and what changes has he made in Hungary that have grabbed the attention of the American right? 

Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe.  It is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west.  Viktor Orban first came on the political scene as a member of the center right, similar to Angela Merkel of Germany. By the time of his second stint as Prime Minister in 2010, he had morphed into something quite different. He boasted of becoming a proponent of an “illiberal” form of government. At the heart of his ideology was the principle that liberal multiculturalism must be defeated. For Orban, illiberalism means that Hungary is for the Hungarians. What follows is a summary of the policies adopted by Hungary since Orban has been Prime Minister.

Border Security The American right is enamored with the barbed-wire fences at the Hungarian border that appear clean and orderly with none of the chaos so common at the American Southern border. What is left unsaid is the Hungarian policy of denying food to families held in immigration detention centers. Viktor Orban’s anti-immigration propoganda has convinced many citizens that he is all that stands between them and a hostile Muslim invasion.

Elections While vote counts are not outwardly rigged in Hungary, elections are often one-sided affairs. Almost all of the campaign donations and advertising support Orban’s political party, Fidesz.  Bogus opposition parties are organized as a means of dividing the legitimate opposition vote. Observers have characterized the Hungarian Parliament as “a window decoration for a one party state.”

Hungarian Constitution Within months of taking power, Orban and his majority in the Parliament began rewriting the Constitution.  The country’s constitutional court was expanded in size, and Orban filled the new seats with loyalists. Another provision forced all judges over the age of 62 to retire so that these posts could be filled with friendly jurists.  As a result, The Prime Minister’s illiberal policies are guaranteed court approval.

New Legislation National laws were passed permitting Orban to fire civil servants en masse and replace them with partisan supporters.  Orban installed hand-picked department heads to run election supervision and the national media apparatus. These offices had been non-political under previous laws.

Independent Journalism and Media Orban’s government used the new constitutional provisions and legislation (through exorbitant taxing schemes) to silence independant media organizations. They were forced to sell to the state or to oligarchs aligned with the new illiberal system of government.  By 2017, 90 percent of all media was owned or indirectly controlled by Orban’s political party, including regional newspapers.

Reshaping of the Hungarian Electorate Because Orban’s opponents were denied state sponsored employment (and discriminated against in receiving government benefits) almost a million citizens, or one tenth of the population, left Hungary for Western Europe. Many lost their right to vote against Orban in Hungarian elections.

To boost the number of his supporters, Orban offered citizenship and voting rights to more than one million non-domestic Hungarians living in nations surrounding Hungary. These voters support Orban at a jaw-dropping 95 percent. Within Hungary, the Prime Minister has offered his supporters popular tax breaks, loans and access to medical clinics.

The Business Community Profitable Hungarian Corporations and successful small businesses report a troubling trend of mafia-style tactics to force them to sell out to Orban’s friends. If an offer from the state or an oligarch to purchase a successful company is refused, the organization is choked into submission by high taxes and smothering regulations.  Enriching Orban’s allies and neutralizing perceived threats guarantees a high degree of undemocratic social control.

Education The Orban government has reshaped the public school curriculum to remove opportunities for critical thinking that might encourage students to question the government’s policies. Liberal university centers have been denied funding and shut down.

I was going to end this commentary with the observation that Republicans should be careful what they wish for in praising Hungary’s political system. On second thought and most troubling of all, these policies may be exactly what many right wing Republicans are seeking as they follow Donald Trump down the rabbit hole into the next election cycle.