Jobbik MEP: What is Orbánism and what is not Orbánism?

Unsurprisingly, such terms as “Orbánism” or “illiberalism”, as heralded by the Hungarian prime minister, have become buzzwords and points of reference for many journalists, politicians and other opinion shapers socialized in the European political culture. Although our community’s fundamental values have hardly been openly challenged by anyone inside the European Union before Orbán, I would still warn against crying “Orbánism” whenever you see an ambitious politician resorting to dubious means in order to achieve their goals. Why? Because it prevents you from recognizing the Orbán regime’s true anomalies…

In the last few days I have been frequently asked to comment on Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’ resignation or Czech PM Andrej Babiš’ fall in the election. I’m not surprised by the interest – as a member of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), I am often asked to evaluate political situations, especially when it comes to the Central European region. However, I was certainly surprised how easily journalists and the general public have been labelling European politicians and countries as “Orbánist”.

The purpose of this post is neither to defend nor to condemn Austria’s resigned chancellor. He himself and Austria’s judicial system will do so instead of me. 

This brings me to the point we need to understand in order to see what Hungary’s real problem is.

Sebastian Kurz landed in the Austrian and European political arena as a comet. His youth, his unconventional style and his obvious talent for politics have been a matter of speculation before, too. However, the latest accusations seem to suggest that the young chancellor may have been clinging to his power a bit too much and perhaps used some illegal means to keep it. The serious accusations have led to Sebastian Kurz’s resignation. Now it’s the judicial system’s job to investigate whether he committed the alleged acts. Like it or not, actions that are now attributed to Kurz are nothing new in politics. There have been and there will unfortunately be politicians who resort to dishonest means. That’s why we have the rule of law, the system of checks and balances, the independent judiciary and democratic norms in general to help us investigate such cases and hold these politicians to account if they are proven guilty.