Hungarian politics still dominated by Right and Left

A conservative historian cautions right-wing critics of the government that if Fidesz is defeated, the officials of the pre-2010 left-liberal coalition will be back, and conservatives will be sidelined.

In Mandiner, Bernát László Veszprémy takes the nominations in city councils won by the opposition in the October local elections as proof that if Fidesz is defeated, the old Left dominated by former Prime Minister Gyurcsány would take over. Such developments, the conservative historian remarks, have disproved a growing number of conservatives who opposed the government, and hoped that the victory of a catch-all coalition of opposition parties and NGOs would open up the possibility for centrist politics in which moderate conservatives would be welcome. Veszprémy contends that the practices of municipalities taken over by the opposition suggests that this is unlikely to happen. He recalls that in Budapest and other major cities now led by the opposition, key positions and lucrative contracts were offered to the ‘old cadres’ of the former left-liberal governments. Veszprémy dismisses as illusory any assumption that if Fidesz is replaced, an alternative conservative movement can emerge. If Fidesz is defeated, the old Left will comes back, and conservatives will not be given a chance, Veszprémy concludes.

Tags: Conservatism, Fidesz, opposition