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Viktor Orbán: Paragon of the Right Wing

In early-August 2021, Tucker Carlson – an American conservative political commentator and television show host at Fox News – visited Hungary to meet its Prime Minister, Viktor Orban. What was the cause of this sudden excursion? Many believe the American right-wing has been in search of a beacon of conservatism since the fall of the Republican Trump administration. Carlson’s trip to Hungary may signify the discovery of this new right-wing exemplifier. But it’s not just Americans who sought inspiration in Orban; multiple right wing political groups throughout Europe have been encouraged by Orban’s successful premiership of 11 years, which contrasts the political dominance and lengthy tenures of left-wing parties in European nations. So, who is Viktor Orban and why has he come to be the paragon of the right wing?


Who is Viktor Orbán?

Orban is a prominent right-wing politician in Hungary who has been an active Member of Parliament since 1990. He has since served as Prime Minister of Hungary twice – initially between 1998 and 2002, and later, began serving a second Premiership in 2010, of which he is currently serving his third term.

Having been interested in the anti-Communist movement from a young age, Orban and several like-minded peers founded an anti-Communist political group in 1988 named ‘Fidesz’ (Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége [Hungarian: Alliance of Young Democrats]). At the time, Hungary was governed by the Soviet-backed Hungarian Communist Party that implemented authoritarian rule, making Fidesz an illegal, dissident political party. Nevertheless, in 1990, Fidesz participated in Hungary’s first post-Communist Parliamentary election with Orban as party leader. Subsequently, he was elected President of Fidesz in 1993. Under Orban’s leadership, the political stance of Fidesz changed radically: what was once a party advocating secular liberalism became a proponent of Christian nationalist populism. This new stance came to be the basis of Orban’s policies as Prime Minister in subsequent years.

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Source: Wikipedia


Why does Orbán Appeal to the Right Wing?

According to conservative political journalist Michael Brendan Dougherty, “Conservatives tend to like Orbán because he rejects the view that progressive social reform is the certain future, he supports family formation, and perhaps most of all because he attacks the liberal clerisy.”

Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist at the New York Times, concurs with Dougherty, “It’s not just his anti-immigration stance or his moral traditionalism. It’s that his interventions in Hungarian cultural life, the attacks on liberal academic centers, and the spending on conservative ideological projects, are seen as examples of how political power might curb progressivism’s influence.”

A number of Viktor Orban’s policies have gained support from right-wing groups around the world:

  • Xenophobia and Nationalism:

At the height of the European refugee crisis in 2015, Hungary was one of the least welcoming countries to asylum seekers and refugees. As soon as an influx of refugees appeared in the Balkan region (South of Hungary), the Hungarian Prime Minister vigorously set up a barbed-wire fence, equipped with military surveillance, floodlights and motion detectors, on the country’s Southern border. Subsequently, Hungary adopted a policy of ‘starving out’ asylum seekers, depriving them of food provisions and forcing them to leave the Hungarian border out of pure starvation.

Despite the harsh criticism he received from fellow leaders of European Union nations, Orban has been unwavering in his anti-immigration policy, even encouraging the governments of Greece and Italy to follow his example. His justification for this stance is closely knit with his dedication to Europeanism and Christianity: “We are these things: this is Europe. Europe is Hellas, not Persia; it is Rome, not Carthage; it is Christianity, not a caliphate.”

Right-wing supporters in Hungary and around the world came to see Viktor Orban’s rapid response to the influx of migrants as efficient and effective, both practically and politically – unlike, perhaps, former US President Donald Trump’s tedious Mexican border-wall project. At the same time, his emphasis on the defense of Christian society from foreign Muslim “thugs and terrorists” appealed to many at a time when the Muslim world was increasingly linked to violence: "We don't see these people as Muslim refugees. We see them as Muslim invaders."

According to Migrationpolicy.org, “In summer 2015, more than 390,000 asylum seekers, mostly Muslim, crossed the Serbian-Hungarian border and descended on the Keleti railway station in Budapest. For Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party, the arrival of these asylum seekers was not a humanitarian issue, but a Muslim invasion threatening the national security, social cohesion, and Christian identity of the Hungarian nation.”

Orban stressed this on a speech in 2016, “We shall not import to Hungary crime, terrorism, homophobia and synagogue-burning anti-Semitism. There shall be no urban districts beyond the reach of the law, there shall be no mass disorder or immigrant riots here, and there shall be no gangs hunting down our women and daughters.”

Viktor Orban’s Islamophobic sentiments and opposition to refugee intake are also likely to be strategically linked to Fidesz’s populist nature. When populist principles are applied to this case, the Hungarian populace’s favor or disfavor of immigrants and Muslims should be reflected through Fidesz’s policies and objectives. Since Fidesz responded to the public’s increasing disfavor of immigrants and Muslims by implementing anti-immigration policies, Orban succeeded in securing a third and fourth term as Prime Minister of Hungary.

According to an article on Brookings.edu, “Fidesz’s campaign against immigration exploits Hungarian society’s objection to ‘others,’ which has traditionally been strong compared to other countries in the region... and there has been a rising trend in intolerance. In 1992, 15% of Hungarians expressed xenophobic attitudes but the number increased to 39% by 2014, and reached a peak of 67% in October 2018. According to the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of Hungarians had unfavorable views of Muslims in 2016 compared to the EU median of 43 percent. In a 2017 survey, 64 percent of respondents from Hungary agreed with the statement that ‘all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped’.”

Yet, for paleo-conservatives like Tucker Carlson, Orban’s anti-immigration stance had a far more favorable result: the rise of nationalist procreation movements. A rise in national birth rates is, according to reactionaries, the best solution to labor shortages and economic troubles in developed countries as it negates the need for policies of ‘importing’ labor from foreign countries. Orban was quick to adopt policies to develop a ‘Family-Friendly Hungary’ in support of increasing national birth rates: “They want as many migrants to enter as they are lacking kids, so that the numbers will add up. We Hungarians have a different way of thinking. Instead of just numbers, we want Hungarian children. Migration for us is surrender.”

According to The Guardian, these policies include, “Nationalized IVF clinics, generous loans for couples who promise to procreate imminently and lifetime income tax exemption for having four or more children.”

What appeals to reactionaries and traditionalists in the right-wing is the focus of these policies on family. Although single women are allowed free IVF treatments, most financial benefits are exclusive to heterosexual couples, encouraging a rise in traditional families and family values and, thus, corresponding with right-wing objectives.

  • Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies:

Perhaps Orban’s most perplexing claim is that he had no intention of importing “Homophobia” to Hungary through refugees. Hungary has some of the strictest anti-LGBTQ+ legislation among EU nations, despite homosexuality being legal in the country. Members of the Hungarian LGBTQ+ community face several legal and social hurdles: the country’s constitution recognizes civil partnerships between same-sex couples, but bans marriages between them; it is illegal for both same-sex couples and single individuals to adopt children; single women are allowed access to IVF and donor insemination treatments regardless of sexual orientation, but registered lesbian couples are banned from receiving such treatments, and conversion therapy on minors is legal. A majority of these restrictions on same-sex and LGBTQ+ couples were established after the passing of a Constitutional amendment proposed by Orban and his Fidesz party in November, 2020, further emphasizing Orban’s commitment to conservative Christian principles. Prior to this amendment, these restrictions were either nonexistent or more lenient as Hungary had to follow the EU’s human rights policies to be accepted into the bloc during the early 2000’s.

Restrictions were also imposed on transgender and non-binary individuals earlier that year. In March 2020, Orban submitted a bill to Parliament that proposed to change the term ‘sex’ in official documents to ‘sex at birth’. The passing of the bill in Parliament made it impossible for people to change their legal gender, which many found strange given Hungary’s legalization of gender transitions under the ‘Equal Treatment Act’ in 2018. Additionally, transgender individuals are banned from military service.

What particularly enraged progressives and delighted conservatives recently was the law, established in June 2021, that banned the showing of "any content portraying or promoting sex reassignment or homosexuality" to minors as they may have a “detrimental impact on their development.” In response, 17 EU member states and several human rights groups condemned the law, seeing it as a Hungarian manifestation of Russia’s ‘Gay Propaganda Law’. Furthermore, within a week of the law’s passing in Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Parliament initiated ‘Rule of Law’ action against the Hungarian Government as the law infringes the EU’s human rights policy, causing Orban’s Government to, potentially, face fines amounting to billions of Euros if they lose the case.

“This Hungarian bill is a shame,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “This bill clearly discriminates against people based on their sexual orientation. It goes against the fundamental values of the European Union: human dignity, equality and respect for human rights.... I believe in a European Union where you are free to be who you are and love whomever you want.”

On the other hand, an alliance of Romanian far-right parties formed in August, 2021, to campaign for the censorship of LGBTQ+ content accessible to minors, drawing inspiration from Orban’s new law. For many progressives and left-wing supporters, this is an ominous sign of how Orban has empowered right-wing groups throughout Europe, encouraging them to defy even EU membership criteria to meet their ends.


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Souce: Reuters

How Can You Help?

You can spread awareness about the injustices in Hungary. Public outcry may strengthen the European Commission’s case against the Hungarian Government, putting pressure on Orban to pull back on detrimental policies. Given the lack of press freedom and freedom of speech in Hungary, spreading awareness on human rights issues in the country may help immensely. At the same time, it may aid the anti-Orban coalition in gaining support and overthrowing him.

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