“If you get your news from the mainstream media, you might think that Hungary just suffered a fascist coup. What actually happened is that, in fair and free elections, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his center-right Fidesz Party easily won another term by defeating a divided opposition led by mediocrities.”
“The accusations against Hungary by the American Left are just as hypocritical. Although gerrymandering is one of our oldest political traditions — one that Democrats remain enthusiastic about when they get the opportunity to indulge in it — Orbán is condemned for it. Those who are hysterical over Russia possibly influencing American elections are appalled that Orbán wants to regulate the flow of foreign cash meddling in Hungarian politics and culture. Those who have demonized the Koch brothers have the vapors because Orbán did the same to George Soros. The media that overwhelmingly backed President Obama and almost-president Hillary Clinton complains that supporters of Orbán and Fidesz control too much of the Hungarian media.”
“There are reasonable criticisms of Orbán to be made (regarding cronyism, for instance), but his critics in Western government and media accuse him of nothing that they have not done or supported themselves.”
The elites, who “in both Europe and the United States are increasingly autocratic […] hate Orbán, not because he is illiberal and undemocratic (he may be, but he is no more guilty of these charges than they are), but because he is an obstacle to their rule and represents an alternative that other nations might emulate. He wants Hungary to remain Hungary — neither assimilated into a pan-European identity nor overwhelmed by migrants.”
“Populist movements and governments are a symptom of the West’s crisis, not a cause. In Europe, support for supposedly undemocratic populist politicians and parties is driven by the actually undemocratic policies of the European elite, such as one nation setting immigration policy for the entire continent. In the United States, support for the oafish illiberalism of Donald Trump is in large part a response to the more respectable and polished illiberalism of the Left, such as the persistent efforts to force religious nonconformists to promote and participate in celebrating same-sex wedding ceremonies.”
“One need not support populist leaders and movements to be disgusted by the routine hypocrisy of their critics. […] But it is clear that the Left no longer offers a liberal democratic alternative to someone like Orbán, if it ever did. Those who claim to champion liberal democracy should examine themselves before condemning others.”
“If the trans-Atlantic elite want liberal democratic alternatives to the likes of Orbán and Trump, then they must offer some.”
Read more: If The Left Doesn’t Like Hungary’s ‘Fascists,’ It Should Stop Creating Them
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