Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Hungarian Opposition Unites Behind Marki-Zay
Fidesz, the Hungarian ruling party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has managed to turn Hungary into an illiberal democracy, a nation with all the trappings of democracy without real enforcement of citizens' rights. Aiding it in its fight against decency has been the disunity of the opposition in Hungary. That division has come to an end, at least for now, with the victory of Peter Marki-Zay in the primary to challenge him. The secret is that Mr. Marki-Zay has united everyone outside Fidesz, while he himself is a conservative. In other words, the broad united front will fight Mr. Orban from the right.
Mr. Marki-Zay won the second round of the primary with 57% of the vote. Coming second was left-winger Klara Dobrev, Vice President of the European Parliament. She called Mr. Marki-Zay to concede before the count was over. She prized unity above all else. "From now on I support Peter Marki-Zay," Ms. Dobrev said during a concession speech to her supporters.
The key change over the last while has been the political reorientation of the far right Jobbik party, which has moved toward the center. This has made it less toxic to the other opposition parties, and all of them managed to find common ground this time around in resisting Fidesz and Mr. Orban.
Naturally, Mr. Orban has come out swinging, as is his style. Fidesz almost immediately released a statement claiming that the conservative Catholic Mr. Marki-Zay is a "career leftist." He has left-wingers in his united front, to be sure, but to suggest that he himself is a anything other than a small-town mayor and father of 7 is laughable.
Euro News reported, "Marki-Zay burst onto the political scene in 2018 when he stood as an independent and won the election to become mayor of a small southern pro-Orban town, Hodmezovasarhely.
"He entered the primary race as an independent without any political support or financial backing of the opposition parties.
"A self-proclaimed conservative Christian, he is a father of seven who claims he can mobilize voters from across the political spectrum including disaffected Fidesz supporters."
The battle is still an uphill engagement for the opposition. One of the hallmarks of the illiberal democracy is the pro-government propaganda in the national media. Breaking the control that Fidesz has over the press is a major challenge for Mr. Marki-Zay.
Indeed, the press tried to split the united front in the latest campaign. HungaryToday.com reported, "In the last few days, it seems that some in the pro-government press have decided to start throwing everything they have at opposition prime ministerial candidate Peter Marki-Zay, while they are pulling their punches when it comes to his rival, Klara Dobrev."
One expects much more of the same through the April election campaign. In the end, the winter is going to decide whether Mr. Orban wins. An illiberal regime can steal a close election, and it could readily undermine Mr. Marki-Zay's efforts through a hostile media campaign. However, if the nation runs low on gas for heating and cooking, if the transportation system suffers from the cold and snow that lie ahead, the protest vote against him will be overwhelming. On the other hand, if Mr. Orban navigates the season without mistakes, he might not need to steal anything.
© Copyright 2021 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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