Fallen Idol
Viktor Orbán attacked and controlled the media. He diminished academia and universities. He acted as a thorn in Europe’s side and a puppet for Putin. He spread falsehoods, attempted to rig elections, limited support to Ukraine, undermined democratic institutions, basked in corruption, weakened checks and balances, described migrants as poison, erected barriers to bar asylum seekers, removed LGBTQ rights, and enriched his friends while ruining the broader economy. Is it any wonder that he was idolized and emulated by the MAGA movement? Yes, it’s a shame that a US administration sent our vice president to campaign for Orbán while our president dangled economic incentives to Hungarians if they kept his fellow autocrat in power. But it’s also a joyful relief that Hungarians said no to all of it, producing a landslide election that will reverberate throughout Europe, and possibly all the way to Mar-a-Lago. “The prime minister’s loss is a crushing defeat for Donald Trump and his vice president, J. D. Vance, who modeled their agenda in part on Orbán’s governance and staffed their movement with activists trained at his think tanks. As Trump alienated traditional U.S. partners, Washington looked to the like-minded leader in Budapest to represent its interests inside the European Union. The bond was so meaningful to Vance personally that he traveled to Budapest last week to campaign alongside Orbán as if they were running mates.” Isaac Stanley-Becker in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Hungary Just Ousted the Unoustable. (It’s worth noting that Orbán accepted the election results, conceded defeat, and appears to be leaving office without violence. Maybe his American admirers should think about emulating that behavior as well.)
+ “Orbán’s loss brings to an end the assumption of inevitability that has pervaded the MAGA movement, as well as the belief—also present in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric—that illiberal parties are somehow destined not just to win but to hold power forever, because they have the support of the “real” people. As it turns out, history doesn’t work like that. “Real” people grow tired of their rulers. Old ideas become stale. Younger people question orthodoxy. Illiberalism leads to corruption. And if Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too.” Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Illiberalism Is Not Inevitable.
+ Meet Peter Magyar, the Man Who Ended Trump Ally Viktor Orbán’s 16-Year Rule.
+ The Orbán outcome marks another in a string of bad outcomes for JD Vance. As Ron Filipkowski notes: “He campaigns for AfD in Germany – they lose. Invited the Pope to come to U.S. for Trump’s big event – Pope refuses. Leads peace negotiations with Iran – fails miserably. Campaigns in Hungary for Orbán – who gets smoked.” (Now if only I could convince JD Vance to root for the Dodgers.)
