Back in early-90s Central Europe many thought democracy would just work: Vaclav Havel led the way as Czech president while right-wing groups stayed in shadows. As a reporter crossing the region I saw how Soviet-era thinking didnt just go away
The EU membership seemed like a fix-all solution (just like it worked for Germany Spain and others) but something weird happened: Hungary which joined EU in 04 started going backwards. While countries like Poland and Slovakia bounced back from their democratic problems Hungary stayed down
Viktor Orban changed everything: from his early days as a freedom-loving student (who got Soros money for Oxford) to leading Fidesz party he knew exactly what he was doing. After losing in 02 he learned to talk to poor rural voters instead of city folk. By 2010 he had a super-majority in parliament and used it well
- Changed voting rules to help his party
- Put friends in charge of courts and media
- Re-wrote laws to make his actions look legal
- Gave state contracts to loyal business-people
The system works like a well-oiled machine: people who support Orbans ideas get jobs and money; those who dont stay quiet. Its not like old-style dictatorships with police on streets – its more about money control and smart legal work
Today Hungary gets lots of EU cash (about $34B in mid-2010s) which helps keep the system running. Brussels tried to stop some payments in last few years but Orban keeps playing his own game: making friends with Russia buying their gas and blocking EU decisions he dont like
The scariest part is how this became a blueprint for others: from Netherlands to Slovakia many right-wing politicians look at Hungary as an example. Even ex-president Trump called Orban “fantastic“ which shows how far this influence reaches
What people learned over decades and even centuries was that political regimes were always external to peoples everyday lives