Orbánism: growing cancer endangering Europe's stability

Whenever the European Union or NATO discusses aiding Ukraine in its war against the Russian Federation, Orbán immediately emerges with a host of fabricated reasons why these bodies should deny support to the Ukrainian state. His antics during Hungary's presidency of the EU are a case in point.

The political phenomenon of Viktor Orbán, known as Orbánism, is a cancer in the European body. Yet, the EU has been remarkably passive in addressing the presence of a politician who openly serves Russia’s interests within its ranks. Future historians will undoubtedly scrutinize the dubious legacy of this Moscow-aligned figure. For Ukraine, the danger posed by Orbán extends further — he has assumed the questionable role of a messenger between Putin and the future U.S. president, Donald Trump.

And Trump listens to Orbán’s narratives, which are nothing more than a presentation of the desires and views of the mad Russian dictator, cleverly adapted for Western politicians. Since Europe lacks the strength, or perhaps the will, to counter his destructive activities, the EU is forced to reckon with his dangerously fatal impact, which repeatedly undermines European unity — something that was never ideal to begin with and often situational.

Modern Hungary is governed by the whims of one person, whose primary desire is to retain power indefinitely. Viktor Orbán has ensured that no democratic forces in his country can challenge his political lies as they arise, thus preventing the development of "political antibodies" to combat the disease of entrenched dictatorship.

His regime has effectively usurped nearly all Hungarian media, while simultaneously blocking the path for alternative media outlets based on journalism of solid values that reflect reality.

Today's battle against Orbán's dictatorship is an information war. But the Hungarian prime minister, skillfully balancing between Putin and Trump, has become indispensable to both. His unrestricted access to the headquarters of American conservatives — Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — says a lot.

Now, Hungary has become a fully authoritarian state, but despite over 50% of the Hungarian electorate no longer supporting the current prime minister, his regime somehow manages to shuffle the electoral deck to ensure the usurper’s victory.

Orbán is openly dragging Hungary into the paws of the Russian bear, yet many leading politicians in the European Union prefer to turn a blind eye to this. They justify this by claiming that expelling the country from the EU and NATO could close the door to potential positive changes in Hungary in the future.

Victor Orbán, imagining himself as the successor to the dictator Admiral Miklós Horthy, believes he firmly holds the position of lifetime prime minister and feels comfortable in it. Looking at Hungary's history, aside from a few brief democratic episodes, the country has always been ruled by "strong men." These authoritarians reshaped the political scene to their advantage, setting their own rules.

After 14 years in office, it's clear that Orbán has no intention of leaving his position. Therefore, it's not surprising that he has used Putin's large-scale war in Ukraine to his advantage. For several years, he has tried to position himself as the "peacemaker" who alone can guarantee Hungary's security.

While he previously exploited dissatisfaction within Hungarian society over the Treaty of Trianon, now he has added new "scare tactics" that also provoke negative reactions from Hungarians. Knowing that the population seeks safety during the horrific war in the neighboring country, and does not want to get involved in the Russian-Ukrainian bloodshed, he constantly warns that the opposition will send Hungarian troops and weapons to the front lines if they win.

Orbán's power is also sustained by the fact that many Hungarians are more concerned about the economy than his foreign policy. Despite the Hungarian forint reaching a record low and inflation soaring to critical levels, much of Hungarian society believes that it's better for things to stay as they are, as long as it doesn't get worse for them.

In reality, Viktor Orbán is no less dangerous for Western democracy than Putin. While the Russian leader seeks to undermine it from the outside, Orbán is dismantling it from within. And it seems that Brussels still hasn't grasped the danger that Hungary now poses. For over a decade, Viktor Orbán has played the role of Putin's "mole" in the European Union.

His total control over the media might seem not so threatening, until Europeans realize that only 29% of Hungarians speak a language other than Hungarian. The rest, who could, might have already left Hungary. This situation poses a further threat, as by monopolizing "the truth," Orbán ensures that alternative information becomes inaccessible to the majority of the population.

The issue with the Hungarian prime minister is complex and lacks a simple solution. The founding documents of the European Union are structured in such a way that they do not outline a mechanism for expulsion. The EU does not have the authority to do this. Article 7 allows the EU to suspend certain rights of member states, but it cannot expel any member. It can also exert pressure by withholding specific funds from Hungary, which is already happening, but expulsion is not on the table.

The paradox of the situation is that Viktor Orbán is adept at adapting to any given situation. For instance, the Orbán of the 1990s would be against the Orbán of 2012, and both would oppose the Orbán of 2024. He is the perfect sociopath, with an ideology and policy centered on maintaining his power. His electoral base relies on the most uneducated and poorly informed segment of Hungarian society, and this strategy continues to work successfully.

He has now brought the situation to a point where Hungary and the European Union find themselves on opposite sides of the war in Ukraine. In Brussels, the goal is for Ukraine not to lose to totalitarian Russia, while in Budapest, the goal is for Kyiv to agree to a "peace" on Moscow's terms — essentially, capitulation. Resolving this contradiction is now impossible. Orbán defends Kremlin interests with such zeal that it feels as though he is not representing a European country, but rather the Western Federal District of Russia.

He greatly dislikes being in the European Union, but Orbán is kept there by the mercantile interests of his political clan. Hypothetically, Hungary could initiate and announce its exit from the EU.

However, he knows well that the Hungarian economy is subsidy-dependent and rests on three pillars: EU subsidies, free trade within the EU, and cheap energy supplies from Russia, which the prime minister constantly has to justify to Putin. If Hungary has consciously become a non-liberal satellite of Russia, the European Union should not stand in its way.

During his long time in power, Viktor Orbán has unhesitatingly used the levers of government authority to erode democratic norms and strengthen one-party rule. He rewrote the Constitution, changed the judiciary, and used both state and private TV stations, as well as school textbooks, to promote his plans or push disinformation about his competitors.

The example of the Hungarian prime minister should provoke a political discussion within the European Union. How long should one person stay in power before they can be considered a dictator? Orbán has been in power for 14 years and has led his political party, Fidesz, for 30 years. Regardless of how popular he may have been with voters in the past, such a prolonged period in office reflects the degeneration of democratic institutions in Hungary. Not to mention, his authoritarian kleptocracy is a stain on the EU's reputation.

The most disturbing side effect of the "Orbán-Fidesz" pressure on the electoral process and the media is the complete demoralization of Hungary's younger generation and their reluctance to discuss politics at all. A clear parallel can be drawn with Putin's Russia, where those who constantly claimed that "politics doesn't interest them" were conscripted to the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Overall, it's hard not to notice that Orbán, who has turned dishonest politics into his life's work, is imitating Putin's style to gain even more control over his country. Under his leadership, Hungary is completely distancing itself from European values.

The European Union must have the ability and mechanisms to expel countries that violate democratic principles and human rights. Brussels should not subsidize Viktor Orbán's authoritarian regime. The mere prospect of Hungary being expelled from the EU, losing access to the free trade zone, should have been enough to turn intelligent voters away from him.

Orbán's blatant authoritarianism, which he tries to present as Hungary's unique European path, has led the country into confrontation with the EU. Now, Hungary must make a final decision: with Brussels or with Moscow. It's impossible to sit on two chairs at once, and the EU should stop pretending that this is acceptable.

Since the start of the Great War in February 2024, when the war criminal Putin invaded the sovereign state of Ukraine, which refused to submit to his tyranny, Orbán's support for Moscow should have long ago outlawed him within the European Union.

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About the author. Viktor Kaspruk, journalist.

The editors don't always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.