About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

98 Foreign Aff. 44 (2019)
The Transformer: Orban's Evolution and Hungary's Demise

handle is hein.journals/fora98 and id is 894 raw text is: The Transformer Orban's Evolution and Hungary's Demise Paul Lendvai n the summer 1989, the Soviet I Union was beginning to falter, and its grasp on Eastern Europe was slipping. But in Hungary, the Soviets were hardly gone yet: Moscow still maintained around 70,000 soldiers, 1,000 tanks, and 1,500 armored vehicles there. Janos Kadar, who had built and led the repressive, Soviet-aligned regime that had run the country for the past three decades, had resigned the previous year, as the economy sputtered and Kadar himself struggled with cancer. But the regime centered on Kadar's Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party remained intact and still presided over an immense security apparatus and a network of armed militias. The momentum, however, was with the opposition groups that sought to take advantage of the Soviet decline. On June 16, they organized a massive demonstration in Heroes' Square, which includes a monument to the founders of the Hungarian state, in central Budapest. Part memorial service and part protest, the gathering was attended by some 250,000 people. On the steps of the monument lay six coffins. Five contained the unearthed remains of men who had been key leaders of Hungary's PAUL LENDVAI is the author of Orban: Hungary's New Strongman (Oxford University Press, 2018), from which this essay is adapted. 1956 anti-Soviet uprising and who had been sentenced to death in a secret trial and buried in an unmarked grave. The sixth coffin was empty and symbolized the 300 other people who had been executed for their roles in the uprising. The demonstration was followed by the burial of the coffins, giving the remains the dignified resting place the Soviets had denied them. The demonstration, broadcast live on Hungarian television, finished with six speeches. The final one was delivered by Viktor Orban, a little-known, 26-year- old activist with a scruffy beard. It was just seven minutes long, but it electrified the crowd and the people watching at home. If we trust our own strength, then we will be able to put an end to the communist dictatorship, declared Orban, who the previous year had helped found the Alliance of Young Democrats, or Fidesz, a liberal youth movement. If we are determined enough, then we can compel the ruling party to face free elections. If we have not lost sight of the ideas of 1956, we will vote for a government that will at once enter into negotiations on the immediate beginning of the withdrawal of Russian troops. If we are courageous enough, then, but only then, we can fulfill the will of our revolution. In Hungary at the time, it was still unusual for anyone to publicly issue such a blunt rebuke of the Soviets. The speech instantly propelled Orban to fame in his country, and was noticed abroad, as well. Here, it seemed, was a herald of Hungary's bright, democratic future. But in the 30 years that have passed since that day, a staggering reversal has taken place, as Orban has transformed 44 FOREIGN AFFAIRS

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most