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awarding gov- under Fidesz control. ernment contracts to businesses with Fidesz ties, the adoption of special laws to benefit Fidesz supporters in + Anewelection law created gerrymandered legis- the business community, the use of punitive taxation lative districts that were favorable to Fidesz.® against foreign-owned corporations, tax concessions for corporations controlled by Fidesz loyalists, and the + Orban gave voting rights to ethnic Hungarians granting of control over nationalized sectors of the in neighboring countries, who were likely to economy to Fidesz supporters. support Fidesz.’ In its relentless drive to hand economic power to its + The government created a new press authority allies, Fidesz resembles the old-style political ma- 36 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019270
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enrichment of cronies is less an objective in concerned with the repression of unpopular minori- itself than a means of fortifying the dominant political ties than with the creation of a system in which the party against any future challenge from the opposition? institutions of pluralism are hollowed out and the ruling party's dominance is assured over the long term. While Orban is highly unpopular in European liberal circles, he has gained a following among conserva- Having come to office with a two-thirds parliamen- tives in both Europe and the United States. At a 2015 tary majority in 2010, Orban was able to rewrite the congressional subcommittee hearing in Washington, constitution without the consent of the opposition. one Republican legislator after another defended the He rushed through a series of constitutional changes, Fidesz government, often in ways that demonstrated cardinal laws (requiring a two-thirds vote to change or blatant ignorance of political conditions in Budapest.!® remove), and regular laws that had the effect of turn- Conservatives praise Orban for his commitment to ing the Hungarian political system upside down. traditional values and decisive leadership, but they ignore the course he has set for the economy. Among the steps taken by Fidesz after its 2010 triumph: Since taking power in 2010, the prime minister has + The Constitutional Court was overhauled so that violated practically every principle of the free market Fidesz appointees became a majority and its and prudent economic stewardship. Were Hungary a jurisdiction was narrowed.> developing state in Latin America or Africa, donor gov- ernments would likely have imposed special conditions + The government eliminated the independent on foreign assistance given the overt acts of corruption Fiscal Council, responsible for overseeing bud- and cronyism that Fidesz has embraced as a matter of getary policy, then replaced it with a new council public policy. This includes a pattern of
February 8, 2026 at 9:51 AM
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BREAKING DOWN DEMOCRACY: Goals, Strategies, and Methods of Modern Authoritarians Third, he signaled his support for majoritarianism, whose chair and members were Fidesz loyalists. with its disdain for checks and balances and civil The authority was given wide-ranging powers to society, as opposed to the values of pluralism that are fine media outlets.® enshrined in liberal democratic practice. While the measures listed above were some of the most The message here is important. For many, illiberalism’s notorious of the Fidesz initiatives, in some cases draw- defining feature is intolerance toward minority groups: ing critical attention from European oversight bodies, the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) they represent only part of the campaign that has trans- community, Roma, Muslims, refugees and migrants formed Hungary into a full-fledged illiberal democracy. of all sorts. But in Hungary and elsewhere, illiberal government signifies something much more compre- Perhaps the more far-reaching measures introduced hensive than the prime minister asserting that “every under Orban have been in the economic sphere. Since single migrant poses a public security and terror risk,"> 2010, Hungary has evolved into a crony capitalist state and that refugees bring “gangs hunting down our par excellence. But unlike in outright kleptocracies women and daughters”’—two of Orban's more incen- such as Russia, where the regime itself is organized diary declarations. around the plunder of public wealth by the ruling clique, Orban has used state laws and procurement The Hungarian leader is instead telling us that illiberal- contracts to create a wealthy Fidesz-affiliated business ism involves a wholesale rejection of liberal values and constituency that can finance political campaigns, re- democratic norms, with all that this implies for politics ward party supporters, and operate friendly media out- and governance. Fidesz’s “reform” efforts have been less lets. The
February 8, 2026 at 9:51 AM