Tough years ahead predicted for Hungary

The former leader of Jobbik predicts that the next government will face multiple crises after the election. To overcome them, he suggests, the winner of next Sunday’s election should abandon ‘tribal thinking and partisan psychosis’.

On Index, Jobbik’s founding leader Gábor Vona who is now a political analyst fears that after the 3 April Parliamentary election, Hungary will face its deepest crisis since 1989. The new government will have to confront multiple difficulties, including the geopolitical challenges of the Ukraine war, an economic slowdown, a social crisis as well as a deep mental crisis in Hungary. Vona thinks that in order to overcome geopolitical and economic difficulties, the new government should first remedy the social ills of the country, including widespread depression and alcoholism as well as what he calls the pathological distrust, frustration and ‘tribal thinking’ that make many Hungarians susceptible to demagogy and conspiracy theories. Without ending the partisan ‘cold war’, fueled by both Right and Left, Hungary is unlikely to find the strength to tackle the challenges ahead, Vona contends. In a passing remark, he notes that the winners of the election may easily become the losers in the long run, if they fail to tackle the immense challenges on the horizon.

Tags: election