Viktor Orban - The Internal Rival of the EU

By Oliver Morten (EU correspondent)

Edited by Ollie Lycett (Economics editor)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a polarising figure to say the least. The long-term premier of the central European country has been the leader of the national conservative party, Fidesz, since 2003. Orban is seen by many in the EU as an authoritarian, illiberal and populist figure, however, by conservatives across the world, he is viewed as an uncompromising defender of Hungary’s sovereignty in Europe and a strong leader.

This combination of nationalism, conservatism and populism make him on the right of the EU figures, similar to Duda in Poland or even Marine Le Pen in France. However, when combined with the majority of the EU’s liberal and progressive leaders, it is a stark contrast to some, thus raising the question as to whether Hungary should even remain a member of the EU.

A new law headed by Orban banned any teaching of LGBTQ materials in schools, and previously Orban enshrined marriage as a union solely between a man and a woman in the Hungarian constitution. In addition, his government has banned gay couples from adoption and marriage, in an attempt to play to his persona as an advocate for traditional conservative and family values.

This extreme set of laws has provoked much disagreement within the EU, even amounting to a lawsuit being filed against Orban’s government by the European Commission ‘over a Hungarian law which discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.’ The EC President Ursula von der Leyen has also described the law as a ‘disgrace.’

Furthermore, EU leaders Angela Merkel, Pedro Sanchez and Mario Draghi jointly signed a letter concerning the ‘threats against fundamental rights and in particular the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation’ with regards to Orban’s government.

Another of the EU’s criticisms of the Orban administration is the autocratic and repressive government restrictions imposed upon the nation’s media and press. Part of the aforementioned lawsuit was a section regarding the Orban government’s decision to ban Klubradio, a public broadcast service which included guests who actively criticised the government. The European Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Vera Jorouva, has stated in an interview ‘We address attacks to independent media via all the tools that we have.’

In the wider European community, Orban’s staunchly conservative government is a rare find when compared to the current liberal or social democratic governments in France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands or Italy. However, this is looking unlikely to change any time soon, with Orban’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition receiving 68% of the seats in the recent parliamentary election, leading to a supermajority and effectively enabling Orban to pass any legislation his government requires. Orban has also been active in furthering ties between Hungary and both Putin’s Russia and the Visegrad Group, made up of Poland, Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary. In particular, his close relationship with Russia has been a point of interest for many opposition figures within Hungary, and was an influential salient point at the 2022 election. Human rights groups have labelled his anti-LGBTQ legislation as a political tool to distract voters from his connections with Vladimir Putin.

When addressing the context of European autocracy however, there have been many significant changes to previous authoritarian governments. Two major examples include the defeat of Janez Jansa’s government in Slovenia and Andrej Babis’ in Czechia. Jansa is seen as a far-right politician akin to Donald Trump, and led a divisive leadership lasting three terms between 2004 and 2022, before he was defeated by the big tent Freedom Movement earlier this year. Jansa and Orban were seen as close allies, and aimed at strengthening the European conservative movement, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Andrej Babis was the former Czech Prime minister, who lost in the 2021 election to Petr Fiala’s Civic Democratic Party. Originally elected as an anti-establishment populist in 2017, Babis’ term soon turned to corrupt activities, with fraud, nepotism, cronyism and the mentioning of his name in the Pandora Papers. Both Jansa and Babis were defeated by big-tent opposition parties opposed to an autocratic regime, and many are speculating as to whether Orban will fall victim to a similar fate over the coming years as well.

Orban is a controversial figure, nationally and internationally, which attracts attention from all sides. Some view him as a champion of Hungarian nationalism and conservative values, whilst others see him as an autocratic, repressive pseudo-dictator who has the country under his thumb. In whatever light you view him, the future of Hungary will be decided by him, or by the defeat of him, and that is only something time will tell.