It has happened over and over. A population of fools falls for the lies and promises of a charismatic right-wing authoritarian. Slowly and painfully the slow learners realize that they’ve been had, but by then getting rid of a corrupted, criminalized government may not be an easy matter. Just ask Germany under Hitler, Italy under Mussolini, Spain under Franco, Portugal under Salazar and Caetano, Greece under the Colonels, Argentina under the military junta, Chile under Pinochet. Now Hungary under Orbán is history. Still to fully learn their lesson and throw off a criminal government: Russia under Putin and America under Trump.
It looks to me like an iron rule with no real exceptions: Right-wingery always leads to ruin, remorse, and revolution. Hungary is incredibly fortunate to be able to have their revolution with a lawful election. It remains to be seen whether the United States will be able to do that. Orbán was able to stay in power through institutional capture, patronage, propaganda, legal harassment, and intimidation. Orbán was not very violent. Trump, on the other hand (like Putin), is entirely willing to use violence to get what he wants.
The extreme right is often good at producing spectacle, enemies, and temporary, triumphal euphoria for those who are susceptible. But the extreme right cannot, anywhere under any circumstances, produce anything that is durable and decent.
Hungary’s Péter Magyar is troublingly conservative. But at least he promises to restore democracy, turn Hungary away from Putin, and rejoin Europe. If he doesn’t do that, I suspect that, given what they’ve so recently learned, the people of Hungary will catch on pretty quick.
At least we’re getting better and better laughs out of the blunders of the Trump regime. Their cluelessness in not comprehending that a visit by Vance would help Orbán lose the election was hilarious, as were the stories about Vance and Jared Kushner stomping out of Pakistan after the Iranians made fools of them. And then there was Melania’s press conference, which Saturday Night Live had a lot of fun with.
And then there’s this (⬇︎), apparently intended to keep evangelicals on board. I shudder to think what it must be like to be so stupid.
