Orban, Trump, and the Trouble with Right-Wing Populists
They Just Don't Deliver, Do They?
Recently, you may have heard that the European Union passed a landmark 50 billion-euro ($54 billion) fund for Ukraine. After a significant pressure campaign, they were finally able to get Hungarian leader Viktor Orban onboard after he offered some initial resistance.
Orban, as some of you might know, is in many ways like a European Trump. Orban’s political career has thrived on his party’s attempts to “[weaken] the country’s independent and democratic institutions.” Together, they have “[rewritten] election laws to favor his Fidesz party, [changed] school textbooks, [curbed] press freedoms,” and even “[overhauled] the Constitution.”
Sounds like a good summary of Trump 2024, if you ask me. Orban, like his far-right American counterparts, has declared himself and his nation to be at the center of the so-called “anti-woke resistance.” In other words, he is a more pompous and maybe a little less annoying version of Ron DeSantis.
Orban is a “populist,” intent on fighting a battle against who he calls “out-of-touch urban elites.” His more confrontational messaging style, while not as popular in Europe, has found an eager audience in America. For instance, he has recently addressed CPAC, and was cheered on for his culture warrior persona and his anti-LGBTQ+ stances.
Which should make the American conservative ask: how has Orban’s authoritarian and supposedly populist reign benefited the people of Hungary? Frankly, the answer is that it has not benefited them at all. On the world stage, Hungary is more isolated than ever. Even more conservative governments—like Giorgia Meloni’s in Italy—have shunned his obstructionism on Ukraine and his sympathetic attitude towards fellow authoritarian Vladimir Putin.
Domestically, the picture is even worse. Let’s, for a second, set aside the very important consequences of Orban’s anti-democracy crusade. Even forgetting that, Hungary once had, “at more than 17% percent,” the highest inflation rate in the European Union. In other words, if you get the chance, ask any friends you have in Hungary how much a carton of eggs costs there.
All this makes his opposition to Ukraine funding all the more ironic. Orban may never admit it, but limiting financial support for countries abroad apparently did not jumpstart a quick Hungarian economic recovery. The global supply-chain shock still hit and it hit Hungary harder than anyone.
Now, instead of taking any substantive steps to address the economic pains of voters, Orban has predictably “focused on denouncing ‘gender insanity’” and the EU’s alleged plans to “indoctrinate children to become transgender.” And, if all else fails, he can always use his significant propaganda machine to pass off everything he does as a victory.
In short, this is the right-wing “populist” playbook. Complain, criticize, do nothing, and let the people suffer for it. That is why Trump’s immigration messaging includes obstructing any real progress on bipartisan immigration action.
So, if you see a Trump supporter, ask them what they think of the right-wing populist record. A record of 17% inflation, irrelevant culture wars, and complete isolation on the world stage. Let’s see if they would stick with Trump through that.