A thread about Hungary from someone who lived there. There are some very specific reasons why older Hungarians are susceptible to the rhetoric of Orban and his racist pals. They are historical. I do not agree with them but understand why people buy into them.
Hungary has a history of being invaded - the Ottomans, the Hapsburgs, the Soviet Union. It also has the Treaty of Trianon hanging over it which removed 70% of its territory and almost 60% of its population.
Even younger Hungarians feel acutely the history of occupation and oppression. Many of my friends who are outward looking and internationalist still won't click glasses of beer because of the massacre of the 13 Generals by the Austrians in the the late 19th century.
They often talk as if Puskas is still playing and the Mightly Magyar are the still the best football team in the world. The older Hungarians remember the tanks rolling into Budapest in 1956 after the rebellion & remember Hitler blowing up every bridge over the Duna out of spite.
After the fall of communism, much of the country fared badly. The Soviet Union regionalised expertise and many of the trades based in Hungary became obsolete. eg there was a town where most of the uniforms for the Soviet forces were made.
Overnight, almost the entire town was obsolete and unable to find work doing something else. Add to that the loss of guaranteed housing that communism provided, you get some simmering resentment.
I remember talking to an older woman in my building who wished for the return of the Soviet Union because it was gender blind. She had been an engineer - as soon as capitalism arrived, gender discrimination arrived too so she could not practice her profession.
I could go on for about 300 tweets about all this stuff but, in short, there are genuine reasons why the Magyar feel under siege. Many of them are from centuries ago but the one thing I leaned during my years in Budapest if that they have very long memories.
The other important point is corruption in public life which the population hate but accept as the norm. I met someone who worked for the Tax Office who got half of his salary paid under the table. Doctors and nurses expect cash payments for treatment even though .......
Hungary has socialised medicine. This is because the pay is so bad (because of the corruption). If you have a baby, you need to pay the doctor one month's salary as a 'baby bonus'. Incredible but true.
Anyway...... When you add all of this to a recently gerrymandered electoral system (by Orban), it is not hard to understand why a racist, fascist authoritarian like him can get such a massive mandate. Under his system, 50% of the vote gets his party 75% of seats in Parliament.
I love my Hungarian friends and Budapest will always be one of my favourite places in the world. Just thought I would provide a little of what I learned living there. Orban is a monster but his rise is not hard to understand.
