How to reconcile, in an election campaign and in a government coalition, allies as different as liberals and greens, conservatives and social democrats? Petér Márki-Zay, leader of the candidacy of an unprecedented united front opposing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, recognizes the difficulties. “But if there’s one thing that scares me more than having a diverse and divided government, it’s Orbán continuing to rule this country.”
Parliamentary elections in Hungary will be held on the 3rd. Orbán is in his fourth term (his third in a row since 2010) and will face the mayor of small Hódmezövásárhely (pronounced Hôdmeizurvasharhei).
Márki-Zay explains that, above the differences, what unites the opposition in the election is the need to recover values such as freedom of the press and the rule of law. “Everyone wants to get back to normal. The way out of this scenario in which Orbán has placed Hungary is not to the left or to the right, but to the outside”, he says, in a press conference with international journalists that sheet accompanied this Thursday (24) — they also asked professional questions from the USA, Spain, Germany, Belgium and England.
Conservative, Christian, without party affiliation and father of seven, he criticizes the conditions of the campaign, due to the control of the media and social networks exercised by Orbán, and denounces the risk of fraud. The latest poll by the Republikon institute, on March 16th and 18th, indicates a tight race: Orbán’s Fidesz has 41% of the voting intentions, two percentage points ahead of the united front United for Hungary, with 39% —16 % said they were undecided.
“Orbán had to go as far as Brazil to find someone who would support him,” he said, referring to Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) recent visit to Budapest. “I don’t think Brazil is benefiting much from this friendship, but it’s up to you to decide.”
A recent poll showed that most Hungarians think there should be neutrality between Russia and Ukraine, which seems to resonate with Orbán’s ambiguity. Mr. took a clearer position, that it is necessary to side with the West. How is the disposition of voters? Orbán is always measuring public opinion. He has an advertising machine, including on social media, where he controls everything, paying for ads, boosting his messages, using all sorts of tactics. The so-called “independent media” is also under the influence of Orbán.
He is playing on the Hungarian people’s peace wishes. Everyone wants peace, and he is hiding important facts — the war was not a choice of the Ukrainian people. It is not possible to have an equidistant position between an aggressor and a victim.
While I say that Hungary can only be protected under NATO, that we have to be a trusted and loyal member of the Western community, he says that we will send untrained children to die in the war. Orbán attacks us for the intention of sending weapons to Ukraine, but at the same time he votes for that in the European Union. It’s the dirty game he plays.
As Prime Minister, Mr. approve sanctions on Russian oil and gas? We will support sanctions in many fields, not necessarily oil and gas. Many European countries, not just Hungary, do. Hungary depends on Russian gas, we cannot support import ban at the moment. But if the international community is able to help secure natural gas reserves…
That’s our point and that’s what Orbán is saying. Russia needs money, Europe needs gas, so it probably won’t be an area for sanctions. But, above all others, Orbán was reluctant, and we will definitely agree to any and all sanctions that prevent the war from continuing.
Why isn’t Orbán’s support for Vladimir Putin resonating against him in the polls? Because he’s brainwashed. And he is the greatest pragmatist of all. He started his career in the youth communist movement, then continued as a liberal politician who supported LGBTQIA+ rights, then became a conservative. Anti-Putin, pro-Europe — was the prime minister when Hungary joined NATO [1999]. I supported him in 2010 and after that he changed again, becoming pro-Putin and anti-European. A 180 degree turn. For him, it’s a pragmatic issue, to maintain his power and his wealth.
In the campaign, on the one hand, Mr. emphasizes conservative values, such as being a Christian and having seven children. On the other hand, he highlights policies more to the left, such as strengthening the protection of minorities. It is not a danger that voters will not understand what Mr. really defend? We are under attack from both sides. I have been criticized for being on the left and for being on the right. We represent an alliance of six parties and I am not part of any of them. The union of the opposition is a national front that we have built against Orbán and against corruption. And that’s the most important thing. There is a corrupt politician who has no ideology. We have to defeat him.
How do you see the chances of such a broad coalition managing to govern? I have no doubt that it will be difficult. But if there’s one thing that scares me more than having a diverse and divided government, it’s Orbán continuing to rule this country. We are ready to govern with all these parties, we were successful in putting our electoral program on its feet. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that difficult either.
When you have repression, poverty, no freedom of the press and no rule of law, when there is a dictatorship — everyone wants freedom, wants to get back to normal. The way out of this scenario in which Orbán has placed Hungary is not to the left or to the right, but to the outside. We have to leave the dictatorship. And that’s a joint program, whether you’re a social democrat, liberal or conservative or green.
You want to live in a democratic country that belongs to the European Union. These are basic values common to all of us. Our program is to recover these principles and for that we make an effort. Later it will be time to discuss whether progressive taxation is better, where to invest more or less, etc.
In addition to Orbán’s control of the media, are there other factors that prevent him from having a balanced contest? There will be no free and fair elections in Hungary, no matter what. It is a sign of a miracle that we have any chance of defeating Orbán. We have institutionalized electoral fraud. In Romania, which I have just returned from, Fidesz activists were organizing millions of ballots. In Serbia, it is not the courier that delivers ballots, but political activists from Fidesz — it is not possible to guarantee that ballots will be distributed and collected independently. We have reports that Fidesz has registered hundreds of thousands of voters in these two countries, and there are rumors of vote-buying negotiations.
However, the biggest problem is the media. We didn’t even get ad space. We have maybe 10% of the Fidesz money, but we’ve been getting donations and wanted to buy more space, like billboards; companies don’t sell to us because they fear intimidation. The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 required registration by email. And people began to receive political, pro-government and anti-opposition messages. The government was fined by the Supreme Court, but the Constitutional Court, with allies of Fidesz, overturned that decision.
It is brainwashing that has reached the highest historical level. The things I’m criticized for aren’t true, and voters don’t really know the things Orbán does. It is very difficult to call this democracy or the rule of law. In a country of 10 million people there was only one opposition FM radio station in Budapest and the license was taken a year ago.
And what should the EU do about it? Orbán is having economic problems. He had to make changes to the Budget, to introduce tax exemptions and discounts for young people and families, salary increases, energy and gas price freezes. He’s scared, and the cost to the economy is huge. He is confident in the EU’s resources, but the EU is not passing them on. I hope the bloc can force Orbán to weaken his dictatorship. He is using EU resources for himself.
If elected, what will be his approach towards Brazil and Bolsonaro, an ally of Orbán who recently visited his country? Mr. would you comment on the election in Brazil? I don’t think it should decide the fate of the Brazilian people. I support Brazil, its political and economic development, and I am sure that all Brazilians want to live in a free society. I don’t want to influence the elections.
Orbán is quite isolated on the international stage. His last allies in Europe were Slovenia and Poland, and even they turned their backs on Orbán because of their support for Putin and their reluctance to help Ukraine. He voted for sanctions and arms for Ukraine, but always at the last moment, under pressure. Orbán has always been at Putin’s service, he is his puppet. He is a traitor to NATO and the EU.
He is isolated and had to go as far as Brazil to find someone to support him. I don’t think Brazil is benefiting much from this friendship, but it’s up to you to decide. Someone who is a traitor to Europe and the international community, the most corrupt head of government and state in the history of Hungary. Is he a good sign for Bolsonaro? Is it a good thing to be friends with Orbán, a corrupt oligarch? I don’t think it’s useful for Bolsonaro either.
