Less than four months after losing the power he had held for 16\nyears, former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has begun to raise\nthe flag of resistance. The nationalist leader on Wednesday declared a\npeaceful \u2018resistance\u2019 movement against the new government of Prime\nMinister P\u00e9ter Magyar, which he claims has transformed Hungary from a\ndemocracy into a \u2018tyranny\u2019.<\/p>\n
The harsh statement marks the biggest escalation in Hungarian\npolitics since the Tisza Party\u2019s landslide victory in April\u2019s election.\nOrban is not only rejecting the legitimacy of a number of new officials\nappointed by the Magyar government, but is also calling for political\nmobilisation through what he calls the \u2018Declaration of Resistance\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis new political system is not a democracy. It is a tyranny,\u201d\nOrban said at a press conference in front of the Fidesz Party\nheadquarters in Budapest.<\/p>\n
For many observers, the speech signals that Fidesz is now preparing\nto play the role of an aggressive opposition after nearly two decades\ndominating the Hungarian political stage.<\/p>\n
Over the past 16 years, Orban has been known as one of the most\ninfluential leaders in Central Europe. He built a government that\nemphasised nationalism, social conservatism, rejection of mass\nimmigration, and relatively closer ties with Russia compared to most\nEuropean Union countries.<\/p>\n
However, that era came to an end in April when the Tisza Party, led\nby P\u00e9ter Magyar, won a sweeping victory in the election and formed a\nnew, more pro-European Union government.<\/p>\n
Since officially taking office in May, Magyar has moved quickly to\ndismantle the various institutions that had served as the pillars of\nOrban\u2019s power.<\/p>\n
Orban Furious After Constitution Amended<\/p>\n
nThe peak of Orban\u2019s anger was triggered by a constitutional\namendment passed by parliament last week.<\/p>\n
The changes include the removal of the president appointed during the\nOrban era and the imposition of a maximum 12-year term limit for members\nof parliament. The provision applies retroactively.<\/p>\n
Orban believes the rule was deliberately created to push Fidesz\nelites out of national politics.<\/p>\n
According to him, almost half of the Fidesz coalition members\ncurrently sitting in parliament would no longer be eligible to run in\nthe next election in 2030.<\/p>\n
He even compared the policy to the situation in Hungary before the\ncollapse of the communist regime in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time there was no democracy in Hungary. There was no rule of\nlaw,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Orban also accused the government of destroying the principle of\nchecks and balances \u2014 the mechanism by which state institutions oversee\none another.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/after-16-years-in-power-orban-now-leads-hungarys-resistance-movement-1784865101", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }