Hungary's authoritarian, Russia-aligned prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has now secured a fourth consecutive term and parliamentary supermajority in an election that was neither free nor fair. For the European Union, the question of what to do about the full-blown autocracy in its midst has become more urgent than ever.
BUDAPEST – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has just won a fourth term. In a democracy, such a victory would reflect the decision of the voters to whom the incumbent is accountable. But in Hungary, the European Union’s only full-blown autocracy, the outcome merely reflects the incumbent’s manipulation of the electoral process. With Orbán securing his fourth consecutive supermajority, Hungary has clearly become a country where elections are decided before election day.
BUDAPEST – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has just won a fourth term. In a democracy, such a victory would reflect the decision of the voters to whom the incumbent is accountable. But in Hungary, the European Union’s only full-blown autocracy, the outcome merely reflects the incumbent’s manipulation of the electoral process. With Orbán securing his fourth consecutive supermajority, Hungary has clearly become a country where elections are decided before election day.