– Orbán has had close relations with Russia and with Putin, says Eastern Europe expert, Eva Sarfi to TV 2.
On Sunday, there are elections in Hungary and for the first time in 12 years, the current government will face an opposition, which could lead to a change of government.
“Putin is rebuilding the Soviet empire and Orbán is just looking at it with a crushing strategic calm,” opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay said at an election rally in Budapest on Tuesday.
– SUPPORT: Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest in October 2019. The photo was taken by Russian authorities. Photo: Sputnik / Alexei Nikolsky / Kremlin via Reuters
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Hungary does not send weapons to Ukraine, as several other European countries have done. They also refuse to allow weapons, which are going to Ukraine, to pass through the country, even though Hungary is the war-torn country’s neighbor.
In the election campaign, Orbán presents himself as the great dove of peace, says Sarfi.
She is an associate professor of Eastern European studies at the University of Oslo, and says that the current prime minister has managed to turn the war in his favor.
– ELECTION CAMPAIGN: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at an election campaign meeting in Szekesfehervar in Hungary on Friday. Photo: Petr David Josek / AP
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– He has managed to take advantage of the war in the election campaign: if you want peace, then you must vote for me.
The Eastern European expert emphasizes that since the outbreak of the war, Orbán has been on the side of the EU and has joined the economic sanctions, which have been imposed on Russia.
– The opposition supports the sanctions to a greater extent and they are now portrayed as warlords. War has a kind of indirect effect: People think that when there is war, we need a strong leader, and we know what we have, but we do not know what we get.
– There is an absolute common denominator between Putin and Orbán
“Viktor Orbán uses a lot of Putin’s strategies, it’s about the way he approaches power and the way he manipulates the law,” Mina Skouen told TV 2.
She coordinates the work of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee within human rights for LGBT people and has worked with Hungary for several years.
– CONTACT: Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin after talks in Moscow in September 2019. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
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– There is an absolute common denominator between Putin and Orbán, she says, and refers to the controversial LGBT law, which prohibits the production of “so-called LGBT propaganda” aimed at children.
– The law is a blueprint of the Russian law from 2013, says Skouen and adds:
– There is no worse choice for queers in Hungary than Viktor Orbán.
When the law was introduced last year, it met with strong international criticism, including from the EU.
– Orbán pits minorities against each other. He has a form of political action that is very harmful to the people of the country, she says.
On Sunday, a referendum will also be held on the controversial LGBT law.
– PRIDE: Participants participated in the pride celebration in Budapest in July last year. Photo: FERENC ISZA / AFP
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– A number of opinion polls say that it will not have such a high turnout, says Sarfi.
The Eastern European expert believes that it is a deliberate strategy of Orbán to promote such a law.
– The regime always needs an external enemy. In previous elections, immigrants, especially Muslims, were a kind of external enemy. Right now they do not have an explicit enemy.
Sarfi does not think the majority of the inhabitants of Hungary are particularly concerned about the law, and she says that many Hungarians think it is foolish.
– The possible homophobia and transphobia, which exists in a country, will not necessarily be so visible until it is actually used as a political explosive, Skouen believes.
– Very polarized
Peter Márki-Zay leads the coalition, which consists of 6 parties, which have joined forces against the party Fidesz.
During the election campaign, the opposition has tried to use Orbán’s friendship with the Kremlin against him – in what will probably be the most even election in 12 years. For the time being, opinion polls show a leadership of Orbán’s nationalist party, Fidesz.
– For the first time, they have managed to gather a coalition, but Márki-Zay is not so well known and many of those who vote for him do not do so with huge enthusiasm, says Sarfi and continues:
– OPPOSITION LEADER: Peter Márki-Zay leads the coalition, which is trying to win this year’s election in Hungary. Photo: MARTON MONUS / Reuters
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– Hungary is very polarized. Either you like Fidesz or you hate Fidesz. Those who vote for the opposition do so primarily because they want something else.
She explains that when Fidesz first came to power, they introduced a number of welfare subsidies, especially for families with children. The last 12 years have also been good for the economy in the country.
– Many feel that they have a better life, and that is why many have voted for them as well.
Corruption
Regardless of the outcome of the election, Orbán’s party will retain a number of important positions.
– Orbán has a network within the business community, and the party has placed its people in all the important social positions. Orbán’s best friend from childhood, a plumber, is Hungary’s richest man, because a lot of public funds appeal to him, says Sarfi.
The media are also not completely independent in the country.
– The state channel is very Fidesz-controlled. They only show good news about what the government has achieved and news about how fantastic the country is.
– ELECTION CAMPAIGN: Viktor Orbán during an election campaign meeting in Budapest in March this year. Photo: Anna Szilagyi / AP
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However, she says that there is also more critical pressure in the country, but they must seek out the inhabitants of Hungary more actively.
The show from the Helsinki Committee believes that Hungary is heading in the wrong direction.
– Human rights in Hungary are clearly going in the wrong direction. This applies above all to the independence of the courts and the dismantling of democracy, says Skouen and continues:
– More power is being gathered in Orbán’s hands and the independence of the democratic institutions is being reduced. This is not something he has invented himself, we can see parallels to this in other countries, such as in Turkey, Poland and Russia.
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