What's at stake in Hungary's parliamentary election?
The Straits Times
BUDAPEST, March 25 - Viktor Orban, the European Union's longest-serving prime minister, could lose power in an election on April 12 after 16 years at Hungary's helm, opinion polls show. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BUDAPEST, March 25 - Viktor Orban, the European Union's longest-serving prime minister, could lose power in an election on April 12 after 16 years at Hungary's helm, opinion polls show.
The stakes could hardly be higher for the central European country of 9.5 million people and for the brand of right-wing populism that has won Orban both many supporters and many critics in Europe and beyond.
WHAT IS THE LEGACY ORBAN IS DEFENDING?
Orban, 62, has turned Hungary, an EU member since 2004, into a testing ground for what he calls "illiberal Christian democracy", rejecting multiculturalism and immigration, and portraying himself as a defender of traditional family values against Western liberalism.
During Europe's migrant crisis in 2015, Orban built a border fence to prevent refugees from entering Hungary illegally, boosting his popularity at home.
The four successive governments he has led since 2010 have curbed independent media and clashed with Brussels over a raft of policies including on migration, an erosion of LGBTQ+ rights, and more recently, financial aid for Ukraine.
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