The problem with Hungary

The name of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is on the lips of most left-wing, liberal politicians and intellectuals in Europe. They have adorable tantrums, denouncing him as ‘authoritarian’, ‘autocratic’ or, even uglier, ‘dictatorial’, as they congratulate themselves on their righteousness and courage in speaking out.

A few months ago I visited Budapest. On the way in from the airport I saw several billboards depicting Orbán and his rich chum Lörinc Mészáros, the mayor of Felcsút, Orbán’s home town. Beneath, in large letters, were two words: ‘They Steal’. It seems to me a rather poor autocracy where that sort of thing goes on.

Similarly, Lajos Simicska, a former close colleague of Orbán’s, gave a interview — widely and gleefully reported — in which he referred to Orbán as a geci, the rudest word in the language.

Not many Hungarian prime ministers get a proper write-up in English. In that sense, Orbán has already won. Paul Lendvai’s book is both a profile of the man and a potted history of Hungarian politics since 1989. Unlike most journalists who pass hasty judgment on the country, Lendvai is well-informed. He’s a Hungarian who ended up in Austria in 1957 and did well there in the media.

One should not perhaps hold him accountable for the jacket blurb, which describes Orbán as having ‘undisputed’ and ‘unfettered’ power. That’s simply not true: there is a political opposition; there are courts that rule against the government; there are elections; and, as we’ve seen, there’s plenty of criticism.

But Lendvai is responsible for the book’s contents, which masquerades as a serious, scholarly study: facts and figures abound, and citations and notes are thrown in to add a professorial touch, together with wise words from Hegel, Carlyle and Lord Acton.