Viktor Orban, who had been the Prime Minister of Hungary for 16 years, was washed away from office on a tidal wave of votes for his challenger Peter Magyar. Media outlet by outlet was in effect or openly taken over by those Orban deemed to be loyal to him. Journalists in such outlets competed with each other to shower praise on Orban and his money-making, merrymaking men in positions of power. The Hungarians are a proud people with a tradition they have reason to be proud of, and Orban cast himself as the flagbearer of Magyar (Hungarian) pride. According to his acolytes, it was Orban who had ensured that Hungary was freed from control by the admittedly cavernous European Union bureaucracy. They said a vote for Orban is a vote for Hungary, covering Orban in the raiment of patriotism and the fierce independence of the Hungarians. In a few years from coming to power, ministry by ministry, department by department of government, was filled with loyalists. He won their loyalty in a very simple manner, by allowing them to cut away a slice of the corruption cake they collectively baked for him. He was liked by both President Putin of the Russian Federation as well as by President Trump. The latter may have looked at the way in which Orban had seized control of institutions as a model worth following, and adopted the Orban way. In the US Government, the Attorney General (AG) is presumed to be independent of the Executive Branch, intent only on meting out justice, whether the transgressor be small fry or even the President of the US. And now what? AG Pam Bondi was, before being appointed, the personal attorney to Donald Trump. Eventually her errors (caused by following the interests of and dictates from the White House) caused Trump to fire her, giving as a consolation prize a well-paying sinecure in a private company. Trump appointed her deputy, Todd Blanche, as Acting AG. Whatever be his faults, lack of candour is not among them. Blanche went public in admitting that as far as he was concerned, he would follow the instructions of President Trump. In order to secure the post of AG, Blanche is doing whatever Trump wants him to do, such as by freeing those guilty of violent affray during January 6, 2024 and proceeding against the more outspoken critics of Trump. Several of them have, as a consequence, left the Republican Party and switched to the Democratic Party, even becoming candidates for the ensuing US Congressional elections later in the year.
It is commonplace for tags to be placed on individuals. For instance, once an individual gets widely spoken of as a Mahatma, he would remain a Mahatma no matter what he does, including sleeping between two nude women. An “Acharya” would be considered such, even if what he mouthed were inanities rather than profundities. The new Prime Minister of Hungary, Peter Magyar, has been typecast as “pro-EU”. He is, however, unlikely to simply accept without demur the wishes (or directives) of the EU. If Prime Minister Magyar thought that a policy request from Ursula von der Leyen was bad for Hungary, he would almost certainly refuse being a proud Magyar. It remains to be seen if his proclaimed penchant for freedom of speech continues throughout his period in office or gets replaced by the familiar pattern of leaders admonishing as fake news items that are sharply critical. Peter Magyar was helped in his election bid by his relative youth, for the youth seek change, and youths were predominant in the lines of those voting in the just-concluded Hungarian polls, which gave his party a two-thirds majority in Parliament. An item of interest would be his approach to petroproduct supplies from Russia. Will he join the Russophobes and seek to block access to Russian oil and gas? Or will he serve the interests of his people by buying from Russia, even as the oil and gas supply from other sources is being affected by conflict? Peter Magyar needs to be told of the political rise and fall of Rajiv Gandhi, who secured a record number of seats in 1980, only to crash to a humiliating defeat in the next Lok Sabha elections. Rajiv could never shake off the ill-effects of that witty ditty: “Gali gali mein shor hai “Rajiv Gandhi chor hai” Ultimately, it turned out that Bofors was a good piece of artillery, which proved its mettle in actual combat. However, by that time, Rajiv was no more. Peter Magyar needs to ensure a corruption-free administration, not get sucked into the whirlpool of privilege high office brings with it. Within the EU, Hungary has a vital role, given that Central Europe has growing geopolitical clout. In case Peter Magyar decides to come to India, the most populous democracy in the world, he will be assured of a warm welcome.
