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https://theconversation.com/what-viktor-orbans-election-loss-means-for-putin-trump-and-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism-280447>
"Hungary’s most consequential election in decades has just delivered an
important victory for democracy and accountability.
For Hungarians, opposition leader Péter Magyar’s emphatic defeat of Prime
Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz Party ends 16 years of corruption
and quasi-authoritarianism.
The outcome will also be felt widely, from Moscow to Washington and beyond.
In a contest characterised as a referendum on whether Hungary should pivot west
or continue its authoritarian drift, Magyar’s victory is a stern rebuke to the
dark, transnational forces of nativism, division and the politics of resentment
that have become part of mainstream political discourse.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the election was not the turnout (more
than 74%, shattering previous records), or even the result (a two-thirds
supermajority for Magyar’s Tisza party, winning at least 138 of 199
parliamentary seats).
Both had been predicted for some time, and Orbán’s soft authoritarianism had
always left the door ajar for a possible opposition victory at the polls.
Rather, the biggest surprise might have been Orbán’s immediate concession. He
didn’t try to manufacture a crisis or use his security services to hold onto
power. Given the strength of anti-government sentiment in Hungary, such a move
could have led to a “colour revolution” – the type of massive street protests
seen previously in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries.
This could have turned bloody. Liberal Hungarians, and the European Union more
broadly, will be heaving a collective sigh of relief."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
