Yes we can!
The inauguration of the new Hungarian Government proves change from authoritarianism to liberal democracy is indeed possible
Today, Saturday, May 9, the new Government of Hungary was sworn in. Péter Magyar is the Prime Minister, and his party enjoys a two-thirds supermajority in Parliament. As was true of the government of his predecessor, Viktor Orbán, this is a moment whose implications reach beyond its borders and particularly resonate here, now. While there are many differences between small, landlocked, historically conflicted Hungary and the United States, there are key points of similarity — especially at this moment as we enter another election cycle.
The Trump Administration has, by its own repeated admission, taken Hungary’s example of how to install authoritarianism in a democratic society as its playbook. Perversion of the electoral process was — and is — key. This includes preventing those likely to oppose you from voting and amplifying the voices of those likely to support you. Relentless lies about what is actually happening in the country (and world) are an equally essential element. This strategy assumes a largely uninformed electorate, or at least one that is inattentive to the truth — unless it hits them in the face at the gas pump. There is a presumption that the true nature of the electorate is that it is racist and xenophobic, capable of turning a blind eye to epic levels of corruption and outright cruelty. There is a presumption that people of all faiths — and no faith — can talk the talk of peace, love for their fellow man, and tolerance, while simultaneously walking the walk of war, violence, and bigotry toward those different from themselves.
More importantly, however, even after 16 years of re-engineering society and the institutions of democracy, the defeat of the Orbán juggernaut by Péter Magyar’s movement provides a real-life injection of hope. A significant lesson for our own country, is that this change of course would not have been possible without a much larger voter turnout than ever before — turnout not seen since the fall of communism in the 1990s. It also required a substantial number of crossover voters who abandoned the authoritarian party for the alternative and was driven by the rebellion of a younger generation against a sclerotic, entrenched old guard. Even when the deck is stacked against decent, humane, and truly democratic people, they can prevail. Let it be so here at home as well.
Steven Koltai lives in Lincolnville, Maine. He speaks, reads, and writes Hungarian. His regular writing is available here.