Loyalty, populism and football
The Unpopulist magazine published Magyar Hang’s compilation of Fidesz fanatics, in which Ádám Paár explained that for many voters, belonging to the party is like a sports club: identity matters.
The transformation of the Hungarian opposition?
The fact that the Hungarian opposition was not able to win elections for the past twelve years makes it unique within East-Central Europe. But why is the opposition so weak, and what are its possibilities for the future? Ervin Csizmadia’s analysis.
Between two worlds
Talking to Al Jazeera, Gergely Rajnai described the foreign policy of Viktor Orbán as attempting to bridge the gap between East and West, but noted that the war in Ukraine makes this approach less and less tenable.
What happened in Hungary?
The 2022 Hungarian elections ended with an unexpected twist. Fidesz not only hung on to its majority but managed to receive a 2/3 supermajority for the fourth consecutive time. CFPA’s analysis of the outcome.
Tough sailing ahead
Zoltán Novák spoke to Reuters about the expectations of Fidesz following their fourth consecutive supermajority.
Pre-election analysis
How will the war and the state of the economy influence the elections? Gergely Rajnai spoke to Canadian news source about these issues.
Campaign narratives
Julia Lakatos spoke to L’Echo about the innovations and the challenges of the oppositions as well as why the government is popular among many.
War and elections
Gergely Rajnai spoke to ARD about the effects of the Ukraine conflict on Hungarian elections.
Fidesz dominance
Why has the same party won elections in Hungary for more than 12 years? CFPA’s new book looks at this question from a comparative and a historical perspective.
An electoral challenge?
Julia Lakatos spoke to Radio Free Europe about the reasons why the opposition parties rallied behind a conservative major to run against Viktor Orbán.
How to carry out a primary election?
Gergely Rajnai spoke to Le Figaro, emphasizing that primaries are a novelty in Hungarian political culture, therefore all the actors involved have to learn how to take part in the process.
Limits to Innovation?
The Hungarian opposition has taken a great leap towards its renewal with the introduction of the primary election. The question remains however, whether a new system of selection will be enough to find a winning candidate against Viktor Orbán.
Learning curve
Opposition primaries
Financial Times quoted Zoltán Novák concerning the chances for the opposition during the upcoming campaign. While everything suggests a Fidesz advantage, the challenge has never been greater, he said.
Raising the Stakes
Zoltán Novák spoke to Reuters about Viktor Orbán’s referendum plan.
Advantages and Drawbacks
Zoltán Novák spoke to the Slovakian newspaper Dennik N about the characteristics of the participants of the opposition primary.
Realignment on the right
Zoltán Novák spoke to Reuters about the possible new Italian, Polish, Hungarian alliance within the EU, highlighting that despite their differences such an alliance could be a force to be reckoned with.
Vaccine passports are coming?
Zoltán Novák spoke to Reuters about possible COVID-19 waivers for those who have already contracted the virus or have been vaccinated.
Orbán, the West, and Perspectives for Atlanticism
The rhetoric of the Orbán-government has led to several high profile critiques lately. These may be exaggerated, nevertheless they mirror a widespread international sentiment according to which Hungary is no longer a democracy. Ervin Csizmadia looks at the causes of this narrative.
Hammering out a deal
Who’s Victory?
Ádám Vermes spoke to Balkan Insight concerning lex-CEU, highlighting that while the EU court’s decision is a legal victory for the university, the political victory was reaped by the government.
Rule of Law Report
Harsh words for Hungary in the EUs new Rule of Law Report, nevertheless the aim doesn’t seem to be to escalate the conflict, said Júlia Lakatos to Balkan Insight regional news portal.
Strategic negotiations
Júlia Lakatos spoke about the EU recovery fund talks emphasizing that the V4 countries have learned the rules of the EU negotiating game, leveraging their collective bargaining power.
After EU summit
European Crisis Communication
Centre for Fair Political Analysis has analyzed the crisis communication of four European leaders from the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak to the first re-openings (from the end of February to the end of May). We were curious to see how the crisis altered the political communication of the politicians studied.
Motivations of defiance
The Orbán government has been clashing with Europe for the past decade. What are the strategic considerations behind these clashes and what could the West learn from them?
Energy Security and Strategic Communication
Is Fidesz in Crisis?
“The local elections in Hungary meant symbolic loss for Fidesz”, said Attila Tibor Nagy to German paper Spiegel. The election has shown that people are partially tired of Fidesz and that it is possible to replace the Orbán-system in the elections to come.
Culture Wars?
The declaration a culture war, or rather the equivalent of conservative countercultural revolution has been an important element of Hungarian politics in 2019. This shouldn’t come as a surprise though. Julia Lakatos’s analysis goes behind the scenes of the evolution of the concept.
Hungary Divided
The municipal elections of Hungary have become exactly the game changing moment that the opposition had been waiting for. But what can they learn from the outcome?
Why We Support Debates
With less than a month to go before local elections in Budapest, Gergely Karácsony’s suggestion for a debate is being swept off the table by incumbent mayor István Tarlós. How could there be a debate, why should there be one, and what should it be about? CFPA’s position.
Visions of Europe
In our newest e-book we looked at the relationship between Hungary and Europe from five different perspectives; that of party programs, the press, education, political history and mentality.
Why Fidesz Won
The 2018 national elections have ended with a supermajority for Fidesz. This gives the party a strong legitimacy to form its third consecutive government. Both the opposition and major international media outlets have shown disbelief at the results. How could Fidesz have won again?
Election in Hungary ’18
On March 15, one of the most important Hungarian national holidays, the Hungarian government took many people to the streets. The opposition parties could mobilize a lot less but the April 8 elections obviously will not be decided by how many people take to the streets. Ervin Csizmadia explains the “why”s.
How to win?
Attila Tibor Nagy analyzed the upcoming elections for Bloomberg stating: “the main question is whether Fidesz will win with a simple or constitutional majority”.
Soros as Influencer?
“For Orbán, but more importantly, for a lot of Hungarian voters, Soros represents external influence on domestic issues.” Gergely Rajnai explained the current campaign in Hungary for Vice News.
The Second Danger to Democracy
We talk so much of populism that we fail to realize that there is also a second danger to democracy, namely radical pluralism. All encompassing diversity endangers the essence of liberal democracy, the balance of the levels of individuals and community. The American Founding Fathers realized this danger. Why do we fail to see it today?
The Hungarian Ruse
There are many stereotypes and oversimplified statements about Hungary nowadays. One of these is that the authoritarian government is faced by an opposition that has a western mentality. Ervin Csizmadia gives a more nuanced explanation of this approach on Social Europe.