(Washington Insider Magazine) -Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party have dominated Hungarian politics for 11 years. The supermajorities his party have repeatedly won in elections has given Orban the power to push through laws almost unopposed and mould the state structure into a loyal machine.
The political scene in Hungary has become increasingly polarized into a Fidesz versus ‘the rest’ camp since 2010. Orban has a liberal history from the period following the dismantling of the Soviet Union but his evolution into the reactionary that liberals in the EU love to hate has not resulted in conservative allies in Budapest.
In fact, with elections looming next year and opposition parties terrified of once again being left without a say, a rare six-party opposition alliance has formed to run together and Fidesz. The hard-right party Jobbik and green party Dialogue represent two ends of the spectrum in a strategic move that will say Orban have to take on both sides of the political axis.
The opposition parties will be hosting a run of primary elections through this month and the next to decide who will represent the alliance as a unified candidate in every parliamentary seat. They conclude on October 10th.
As part of their strategy, the alliance have announced plans to work out a “shadow” government long ahead of the election to have details such as political deals and government course of action ready to hit the ground running. This attempt to boost appeal may work but in practice could be heavily stunted by the reality they probably won’t achieve a supermajority as Orban’s held for the last three terms. This would mean introducing any legislation to unravel Orban’s grip is likely to be met with heavy resistance.
Such plans are optimistic considering Orban still remains slightly ahead in the polls, although such models are expected to tilt slightly out of his favor if the alliance to be maintained.
Europe is watching closely as Orban’s desire to turn east has repeatedly ruffled feathers in Brussels, who fear the disruptive potential of having a central European state on good terms with Beijing and Moscow. A key topic in Hungarian press during recent weeks has been Fidesz’ enthusiasm for China’s Fudan University outpost that has been proposed in Budapest. The project would cost more than Hungary’s entire education system budget and be paid for by a Chinese loan. The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony has led a popular movement to prevent the project being carried out in a battle that may come to symbolize the greater tussle to resist Eastern connections in Europe.
