Despite criticism from the opposition, which accuses him of his Russophilia, the Prime Minister has multiplied gestures and gifts so that his party wins Sunday’s election.
“Why would you want me to change the government?” A serene face with a wise white mustache, Sandor Galik is a happy retiree. Impeccably ironed jacket and denim jacket, he recently took a two-hour train ride to hear Viktor Orbán speak in Budapest. “I received a 13th month of retirement and a bonus of around 300 euros”, explains this 68-year-old former civil servant who lives in Csengod, a town of 2,000 inhabitants in central Hungary. “The government has reimbursed my two sons for a year of income tax and my daughter no longer pays taxes, like all young people under the age of 25. And the gas is cheaper than elsewhere in Europe… I had to go up to Budapest, it’s a way of saying thank you to the Prime Minister”, smiled Sandor, green, white and red flag in hand. On Sunday, he will vote for Fidesz, the party of Viktor Orbán.
As a good populist, the latter filled the wallets of his compatriots before the elections. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 changed that. Viktor Orbán, who was still visiting the Kremlin on February 1, is today criticized for his closeness to Putin. Yet the strong man of Budapest has not always been so Russophile. In 1989, the young leader of a progressive party, Orbán launched a thunderous “Out the Russians!” in front of a huge crowd in Budapest.
“Under the influence of the Russians”
When the Hungarian socialists returned to power, he accused them of placing the country “under the influence of the Russians”. A few months before winning the elections in 2010, Orbán met Putin in Moscow. Nothing has ever filtered from this meeting, but it is from there that dates the surprising turn of the Magyar politician who is striving to lock democracy on the Russian model. In 2014, while Putin annexed Crimea, Orbán demanded autonomy for the Magyar minority in Ukraine, as if he supported a possible dismemberment of this country.
Today the opposition brandishes it like a scarecrow. “Voting for Orbán is voting for Putin; the choice is between East and West, between Putin or Europe!” launches Péter Marki-Zay, candidate for the post of Prime Minister, in his campaign meetings. “Hungary becomes a little Russia”, worries Andras B., a 34-year-old engineer, who will vote for the opposition.
Péter Marki-Zay, 49, created a surprise in 2018, bringing down a stronghold of Fidesz, the city of Hodmezovasarhely, of which he became mayor. Today, this former director of marketing with a round and candid face has the strengths of his profile as a Christian father and a moderate and upright conservative, but his lack of experience serves him badly. On television, he said that if he were Prime Minister, “If NATO asked for it, we would send arms and soldiers to Ukraine”. Twisting its words, the media empire of Fidesz immediately repeats that the left wants to send Hungarians to the front, while Viktor Orbán hammers: “We want peace. With us, Hungary will stay out of the conflict.”
Secret Service
The whole country is plastered with photos of the Prime Minister in a navy blue jacket, with the slogan: “Let’s preserve the peace and security of Hungary”. “Between the narrative of the opposition – East or West – and that of Orbán – peace or war – it is difficult to say which will prevail, even if most of the surveys give the party to winning power, observes Andras Biro-Nagy, director of the think-tank Policy Solutions. The last poll (40% of the vote for Fidesz against 32% for the opposition) was carried out before the explosion of two scandals.
On March 29, the investigative media Direkt36 reported, with supporting documents, that not only had the Russian secret services totally infiltrated the IT department of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but that the government had been aware for months and no did nothing. And on March 31, the discovery, in a dump in Romania, of ballot papers in favor of the opposition, suggests electoral fraud on the part of Fidesz.
Some 600,000 voters say they are still undecided. Tibor, a young doctor who wishes to remain anonymous, hates the current regime, authoritarian and corrupt. But he doubts the ability of the opposition to govern. “If Viktor Orbán loses, he will refuse to acknowledge his defeat, like Trump, and will sow chaos”, worries Tibor, who would prefer to see the opposition stay in the opposition, while increasing its number of seats “to prevent Orbán from governing alone and doing anything”.