Paul Lendvai
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fragmented and racked by in¿ghting, has
lost almost all credibility. The inescap-
able consequence o public apathy is a
remarkable indierence to the endemic
corruption o the Orban regime. Orban
makes no secret o his plans to rule the
country for the foreseeable future. “I
will remain in politics for the coming 15
to 20 years,” he told a German magazine
in 2016. “Maybe in the front row, maybe
in the third. Exactly where will be
decided by the voters.”
Since the end o Soviet dominance
in 1989, never has the future for the
liberal values o the Enlightenment
seemed so bleak: for tolerance, respect
for the importance o fair debate,
checked and balanced government, and
objectivity and impartiality in media.
Orban and his acolytes disparage those
who disagree with them as unpatriotic
fearmongers and traitors to their
country, government-controlled media
outlets play on historical prejudices
and ignorance, and the regime contin-
ues to blame the ¤ for its own failings
and mistakes. Even i the opposition
develops more credible leadership, it
faces a long, hard road ahead. Given the
lengths to which Orban has already
gone to maintain his position, one must
ask: Is there anything he will not do to
maintain his grip on Hungary?∂academic freedom without the rule o
law, and we’re in a lawless environment.”
Finally, Orban has begun to steadily
reorient Hungary’s foreign policy,
pulling the country away from the liberal
democracies o western Europe and mak-
ing common cause with other strongmen
and populist parties. Indeed, there is
barely a dictator in the world for whom
Orban does not have praise. He has
drawn particularly close to Russian
President Vladimir Putin, criticizing,
time and again, the ¤’s sanctions on
Russia. In 2014, just as the ¤ and the
United States were preparing to sanction
Russia for its annexation o Crimea, and
at a time when Brussels was urging ¤
member states to reduce their dependence
on Russian energy, Orban announced a
deal under which the Russian nuclear
agency would build two nuclear energy
reactors 80 miles south o Budapest, with
Russia providing a loan o $10 billion
for the $12.5 billion project.
“To be considered a good European,
you have to disparage Putin like he is the
devil,” Orban scoed in an interview with
the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in
- The Russian president, he coun-
tered, “rules a great and ancient empire,”
adding that “it needs to be recognized
that Putin has made his country great
again and that Russia is once again a
player on the world stage.” It is dicult
to reconcile such sentiments with the
memory o a young Orban railing against
Moscow’s domination o his country.
HERE TO STAY
Orban has played his hand with great
skill, outmaneuvering his opponents and
tightening his clutch on power. He has
managed to split and corrupt the discred-
ited Socialists. The liberal opposition,