What the Hell is Wrong with Hungary?

[appalachiablue]

- The 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
_______

- Daily Kos, April 4, 2022.

I haven’t seen this written about here yet, and what little MSM coverage of Hungary’s election yesterday has been quite superficial at best, so I’ll just put it out for general discussion — what the Hell is wrong with Hungary (and by extension, the substantial majority of today’s Hungarians)?

They had their one chance yesterday to rescue their country from the increasingly autocratic one-man rule of Viktor Orban and his quasi-fascist Fidesz party, but instead gave him an overwhelming electoral victory over the united opposition. Sure, we can make excuses that it wasn’t really a completely free and fair election, given Orban’s media monopoly and gerrymandered manipulation of the electoral process, but even the opposition concedes Fidesz won a substantial majority of the votes cast — unlike the case with the 2020 Belarus election where Lukashenko had to commit wholesale fraud to claim an illegitimate win.

So how is it that the land of Lajos Kossuth, whose hopes for Hungarian independence and the Liberal Revolution of 1848 were overthrown by Imperial Russia, and Imre Nagy, whose efforts to free his country from their Soviet successors were crushed under the tread of Russian tanks in 1956, now flocks to the standards of Putin’s biggest European cheerleader? Has the land of the Magyars become so corrupted that they now place pecuniary measures like the price of gas above existential questions of good and evil that now even extends to genocide? ~

- 225 Comments, 130 Recs,
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/4/2090117/-What-the-Hell-is-Wrong-with-Hungary
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- Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Orb%C3%A1n
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- BBC News, Hungary Profile - Timeline, Key Events:

..- 1919 - Communists take over power under Bela Kun. Kun wages war on Czechoslovakia and Romania. Romanian forces occupy Budapest and hand power to Admiral Miklos Horthy.
- 1920 - Under Treaty of Trianon, Entente powers award more than two-thirds of Hungarian territory to Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia. The re-defining of Hungary's borders leaves a third of native Hungarian speakers living outside the country.
The National Assembly re-establishes the Kingdom of Hungary, but as the Entente powers had refused to allow the return of a Habsburg king, Admiral Horthy is made regent.

- 1920s-1930s - Admiral Horthy's rule is characterised by bitter resentment at loss of Hungarian territories, becomes progressively more reactionary and more closely allied with Nazi Germany.
- 1938 - After Munich Agreement cedes part of Czechoslovakia to Germany, Hungary regains some of the territory it lost in 1920.
- 1939 - Hungary joins Anti-Comintern Pact of Germany, Japan and Italy, and withdraws from League of Nations.
- 1940 - With the encouragement of Nazi Germany, Hungary regains northern Transylvania from Romania.
- 1941 - Germany invades Soviet Union. Hungary allies itself with Germany, and loses a large part of its army on the Eastern Front.
- 1944 - Hungarian Nazis seize power after Horthy asks advancing Soviet troops for an armistice. Jews and gypsies are deported to death camps.

- Communist rule
- 1945 - Soviet forces drive the Germans out of Hungary by early April. New coalition government introduces land reform bill, redistributing land from large estate owners to peasants.
- 1947-49 - Communists consolidate power under Soviet occupation, with new constitution, nationalisation of industry, collectivised agriculture and mass terror.
- 1956 uprising, Stalin statue being toppled... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17380792

[Atticus]

1. I totally understand hour concern and alarm, but have to wonder if in November, 2016

Europeans were asking "What the hell is wrong with the United States?"

[appalachiablue]

2. Good point, WTH is going on, oligarchs, fascism rising..

[Atticus]

3. Too many are sitting at a keyboard shaking their heads and saying "SOMEONE should do

SOMETHING !"

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

[appalachiablue]

8. Yes, democracy is really threatened. I've tried w F&F for years,

people who don't realize the dangers to democracy. I'm Cassandra. It's bewildering.

[madaboutharry]

5. I have several friends who live in Europe.

They were saying exactly that.

[Cheezoholic]

16. They absolutely were

and still are. And that just gives authoritarians the juxtapose to start their 3 card monte of preying on
age old prejudices and cleave divisions all based on fear. Whether the people of the US like it or not we have a responsibility to prove to the world that this experiment can work. If we surrender it, may as well start passing out little Red Books.

[madaboutharry]

4. I find it hard to understand.

To see the embrace of authoritarians is heartbreaking.

And the French might oust Macron and elect Marine Le Pen. I find that possibility horrifying. Le Pen is an anti-Semitic xenophobic full on fascist.

[appalachiablue]

7. Authoritarians rising- Modi, Bolsonaro, Le Pen's polls are vy troubling..

Macron needs to speed things up, fast.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

10. Toxic Populism is rising

I’d add Brexit as well. Wilders in the Netherlands. The truckers in Canada. I’m concerned about Amlo in Mexico as well.

[appalachiablue]

14. Yup, Brexit, Geert, crazy truckers, Le Pen. I've not followed Mexico, so far.

[Cheezoholic]

15. My fear is it looks like lines are starting to be drawn in the sand

Similar to early 20th century Europe, but on a truly worldwide scale this time.

[appalachiablue]

17. It is reminiscent of that awful era, but worse in ways. I don't

want to experience or be part of a generation that let democracy die. Especially after the tremendous sacrifices and advances made to build a better society in the last few hundred years. The alternative, neofascist authoritarian rule means misery and is a nightmare. No wonder extremists don't want history, the arts and sciences and liberal arts to be taught. The ignorance and propaganda that enable the rise of tyrants is a well- known and ancient story. And it never works for long.

[BlueTsunami2018]

6. They have a fixed system.

There’s really nothing that can be done short of a revolution. The Republicans want to set it up the same way here. They have a decent chance of doing so.

[Xoan]

9. They allow stupid people to vote?

[FakeNoose]

11. Hate to say it, but Hungary was invaded by Russian-version Libertarians a long time ago

I've never been to Hungary, so I can guess that they've been a partner in the Russian propaganda war for many years.

[ChazInAz]

12. I was born there.

The 1956 rebellion came when I was six years old, and I still have vague memories of it. Mostly memories of the family's fear and the scramble to get the hell out with my grandparents along.
In 2012 I revisited for the first time on the rebellion's anniversary, and realized what a beautiful country it is, unaware of the sort of premier Orban was turning into. Doubt if I'll ever go back.
Interesting historical note: my father brought along his flag from the Imry rebellion, with a hole in the center where the Soviet hammer and sickle had been cut out. I still have it.

[appalachiablue]

13. Great story, thanks for that. Too many places seem to be turning

anti democratic, and pro authoritarian with many links.

[Lucky Luciano]

18. As usual, it's the fault of the rural people.

The dictator promises the “True [Insert nationality here]” that their glory days are ahead, but only if the dictator gets power…and if any short term economic benefit is delivered by the dictator to the chosen group, they will be elevated to god status which means those standing in the way must be purged.

The rural mooks are more likely to fall for this bullshit.

[BigDemVoter]

19. They have always been anti-semitic. . . . The Arrow Cross was very popular during WWII.

And like every country, it is impossible to say, "everyone" is anti-semitic, but they have a very, very ugly history when it comes to persecution of Jewish people.

[appalachiablue]

20. Monstrous group. I was also thinking of the Croatian Ustase 1940s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism_in_Europe#:~:text=These%20include%3A%20Le%20Faisceau%2C%20British,Socialist%20Party%2C%20Vlajka%2C%20National%20Fascist