HUNGARY-ORBAN/POWER Hungary's Orban continues to accumulate power despite international pressure

Record ID: 565649

  • Title: HUNGARY-ORBAN/POWER Hungary's Orban continues to accumulate power despite international pressure
  • Date: 24th October 2014
  • Summary: JOBBIK FLAGS JOBBIK DEMONSTRATORS STARTING TORCH-LIT MARCH
  • Embargoed: 8th November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Hungary
  • Country: Hungary
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7OZPM9T3ZEOVHULUOOGFJ5AZO
  • Story Text: On Hungary's main national holiday of the 1956 uprising on Thursday (October 23), opposition demonstrators took to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's growing power. Representing a minority of Hungarians, who kept Orban and his Fidesz party in power 3 elections in a row, the civil group 'Human Platform' rally attracted about a thousand people from all sorts of civil organizations.
    After the fragmented and weak left/liberal opposition parties suffered a crushing defeat at recent municipal elections their voters are left embittered and hopeless about political change in the country.
    "We experience day by day a huge apathy in Hungary and it's because a small group of people has appropriated politics and shaping public affairs for a long time," said one of the speakers at the rally, Stefania Kapronczay.
    Critics say the government has placed Fidesz loyalists to lead public institutions, including the courts or the central bank, elevated a tight circle of businessmen loyal to Orban and fostered a deferential media culture.
    "I see a very dark future ahead because if someone doesn't tell them (the government) off very soon, then they will continue, and the 'Viktatura' (play on words joining the first name of Prime Minister Viktor Orban with the Hungarian word for 'dictatorship') will be built further. And they have very professional staff, so they can keep on building it," demonstrator Pal Szalai said.
    Orban's most recent election victory at the municipal elections earlier this month, after winning national elections and European Parliament elections earlier this year, further solidified his power and analysts say he is to stay in power for a very long time with no real challenge to his reign.
    His ruling party Fidesz saw no need this year to stage any rally on the national day, showing how confident it is about the unwavering support. In recent years, Fidesz staged rallies that attracted hundreds of thousands supporters dwarfing the opposition in size.
    On Sunday (October 19), Orban held a closed post-election rally for all the mayors who won at the municipal election.
    "You have made a fantastic victory almost belonging to the realm of political sci-fi," Orban told the mayors.
    "Fidesz with the Christian Democratic People's Party embodied the will of the country," he said.
    Feeling the empowerment, Orban will stride on, analysts say.
    "After three elections in a row where Fidesz won quite convincing victories Orban can feel that he is omnipotent in the sense that he can achieve all his goals not just domestical-politically but also on international scene and in the economy," analyst of think-tank Political Capital, Peter Kreko said.
    Pressures will mount on the government nevertheless, he added. With the crushed leftish opposition, dissatisfied voters may increasingly find a voice at the far-right Jobbik party which has softened its radical image at recent campaigns. The municipal vote has solidified Jobbik's second place in Hungary's politics, far behind Fidesz but ahead of the leftist opposition, which scored less than half of Jobbik's number of seats in local and regional councils.
    Analysts say the difference between Fidesz and Jobbik is too great for the party to be a challenger any time soon. Fidesz has the backing of 37 percent of the electorate, while Jobbik trails at 15 percent, according to a recent survey by pollster Median.
    "I think the situation is catastrophic, catastrophic. There is big poverty, unemployment, there are many homeless and many people leave the country and many won't come back anymore," Jobbik supporter Eva Hollosi said at a rally.
    The far-right Jobbik staged a demonstration on Sunday, marching with torches along a main boulevard shouting their tame slogan 'nicer future'.
    Apart from domestic pressure, Orban will face increasing international pressure as well.
    Orban's government has clashed several times with the European Union and the United States over reforms that critics said harmed some foreign investors and weakened the system of checks and balances in the former Communist satellite.
    Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Budapest said a number of Hungarians were banned from entry to the United States and alleged that they were engaged in or benefiting from corruption, prompting Budapest to call for a show of evidence.
    U.S. President Barack Obama criticised Egypt and Hungary in a speech last month as countries, where "endless regulations and overt intimidation increasingly target civil society".
    "We can expect austerity measures and because of that the dropping of the popularity of the government. Some of the voters can gravitate towards the Jobbik and to the undecided camp instead of going to the left. And also, increasing pressures coming to the West along with an increasing criticism because of Hungary's and Orban's gravitation towards the East. So in short, Hungary will be under... Orban will be under increasing pressure both domestically from the public and even internationally from the western partners," Kreko said.
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