Inspired by post-Trump America
If we take a look at all of Orban’s controversial moves in recent years, it’s clear he hasn’t actually invented anything new. He just keeps drawing on US campaign strategists and the latest Republican talking points, then promulgates divisive campaign issues already proven to be successful in the US: mass migration, the George Soros globalist conspiracy, the great replacement theory, and gender/LGBT issues.
By peddling misinformation on these issues, just like in the US it has helped push mainstream right-wing discourse in Hungary to the extremes. It was all intentional, too: another trademark of Orban’s political strategy since the 1990s has been to unite the political right by courting far-right voters. In Hungary’s 2022 post-election situation, this strategy has probably never proved more timely for the prime minister.
Our Homeland, a new far-right, fascist-leaning party, shocked many by making it into the Hungarian parliament with 6 per cent of the vote in April, and it’s currently the top choice for many disillusioned former Orban supporters. For the prime minister, it absolutely makes sense to try to outflank them from the right. Between 2018 and 2022, he managed to win over hundreds of thousands of far-right voters who previously supported the Jobbik party, Our Homeland’s predecessor.
The consequences of this strategy are obvious, as it also requires Orban to take action and realise what opposition far-right MPs can…
