Viktor Orbán is the inevitable winner of Hungary’s unfair elections. The opposition is disadvantaged, criticism is muzzled. There is no place in the European Union for this friend of Putin.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is likely to win Sunday’s parliamentary election. His warm relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin does not seem to bother him. Orbán has only risen in the polls since Putin attacked Ukraine.
It is clear that Orbán enjoys considerable support among the Hungarian population. Still, he cannot be considered the winner of fair elections. In the previous elections in 2018, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) already noted that the opposition was severely disadvantaged because Orbán’s party was supported by the state apparatus and critical media were muzzled. Since then, Orbán’s grip on the media and other independent institutions has only grown. In addition, the electoral law was changed in favor of Orbán’s party. This makes it difficult for the opposition to win the elections, even if it has united behind one candidate.
For the European Union, a victory for Orbán will be a setback. For years, the EU has been embroiled in conflict with Poland and Hungary, Member States that undermine the rule of law and democracy. In Brussels, of course, it is hoped that the Hungarians themselves will bring to power a government that respects liberal democracy.
If that does not happen, and it seems that way, the EU will have no choice but to put maximum pressure on Hungary. It is indigestible that European taxpayers’ money is bolstering Viktor Orbán’s authoritarian and corrupt regime. Hungary receives billions in European subsidies every year. In return, it can be expected to adhere to European values, to which it has signed in its right mind when joining the EU.
The war in Ukraine further exacerbates the conflict between the EU, Poland and Hungary. The democratic West is at war with the authoritarianism of countries like Russia and China. In this struggle, internal cohesion and credibility are important. The EU must be a community of values that upholds democracy and the rule of law. It is weakened when its principles are eaten from within by governments that have no respect for pluralism, the rule of law and minority rights. If Hungary believes that its sovereignty is being undermined by the European Union’s desire to enforce democracy and the rule of law, it must be consistent and leave the EU. Now it gratefully collects EU money without adhering to the rules.
Viktor Orbán has been kept under wraps for too long, especially by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Christian Democratic European People’s Party, of which Orbán’s Fidesz party is no longer a member. That all happened in the world before February 24, 2022, when many people still believed that trade and economic integration would promote peace.
Vladimir Putin’s aggression has ended this world. A new period calls for a fundamental position: for freedom and democracy, against oppression and authoritarianism. If the Hungarians themselves do not put an end to Viktor Orbán’s rule, the European Union will be left with nothing but a tough stance.
The position of the newspaper is expressed in the Volkskrant Commentaar. It is created after a discussion between the commentators and the editor-in-chief.