Hungary

The Băile Tuşnad speech of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán must be analyzed in a wider contex: The Orbán regime is systematically taking control of all institutions that could have a role in containing the power of the government.

In the Romanian spa town Băile Tuşnad, Viktor Orbán declares the post-communist period to be over and evokes a new Hungarian community in front of 8,000 students.

With new rules for municipal elections four months before election day Fidesz is consolidating its majority in most city councils. The constitutionality of these changes is questionable, though.

In its attempt to undermine a pluralistic media environment the Hungarian government launched an offensive against the Norwegian NGO Fund operating in the county. It started as a usual political battle, but behind the scenes there is going on much more.

The EP election in Hungary resulted in a clear victory for the governing party Fidesz. The national vote was characterised primarily by an internecine competition on the left and secondarily by a battle between the far-right and the left - an analysis by Tamás Boros.

The dominant West European narrative according to which Orbán is seeking to move Hungary to Europe’s political periphery is at least partially flawed. What is missing is not a pro-European policy, but rather a vision of Hungary's role in the EU.

On 6 April, Fidesz obtained another two-thirds majority in the Hungarian parliament. What will Viktor Orbán want to do with his supermajority, and what are the next four years likely to bring in Hungarian politics and society?

Author György Dalos finds in his analysis of the parliamentary elections that Hungary needs to re-assume its original place among young democracies: with social and democratic political initiatives that can be compelling for voters and non-voters alike and that could contribute in dismantling the culture of hatred.