Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register BUDAPEST, March 31 (Reuters) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party face their first narrowly contested election on April 3 after three consecutive overwhelming victories since 2010. Read more During his 12-year rule, Orban faced international criticism for democratic standards, media freedom and minority rights. The following is an overview of his top policies. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register CONTROL IN THE MEDIA Orban has transformed the Hungarian media landscape, leading to accusations of restrictions on media freedom by the European Union and pro-democracy groups, a charge his government denies. His government has tightened its grip on state media, including radio and television, turning it into a pro-government spokesman, critics say. Pro-government media advertising money has helped create more loyal coverage by the private media, and several private media outlets have been shut down or taken over by government-friendly owners. In 2021, Hungary ranked 92nd in the World Press Freedom Index, up from 56th in 2013. CHECKS AND BALANCE SHEETS Armed with a two-thirds majority in Fidesz, Orban passed a new constitution in 2011 and amended hundreds of laws. During his first term in office, Fidesz forced hundreds of judges to retire under laws the EU said violated its rules. The Hungarian Constitutional Court later annulled parts of this law. Critics say the new election rules have helped consolidate Fidesz’s power by favoring major parties, redesigning constituencies and giving Hungarians the right to vote across central Europe, most of whom tend to support Orban. Orban’s followers are also responsible for key institutions, including the attorney general and the head of the media authority. ECONOMY Under Orban’s rule, Hungary repaid all its outstanding debt to the International Monetary Fund in 2013 after a bailout during the global financial crisis, and its debt regained its investment status three years later. His government halted budget deficits and public debt until the coronavirus pandemic reversed the trend, sparking an outcry from Orban’s campaign spending in 2021 and widening the deficit further this year. Europe’s highest tax on banks, the nationalization of some private pension funds and taxes on telecommunications, energy and retail companies, most of which are owned abroad, have helped boost government finances, but have led to conflicts with Brussels. With entrepreneurs close to Fidesz acquiring large chunks of these strategic sectors, Hungarian ownership has risen, with Orban saying earlier this year that banking, media and energy have become predominantly Hungarian-owned. immigration Hungary built a fence on its southern border after the 2015 immigration crisis and imposed some of Europe’s toughest asylum rules. Rejecting immigration as a solution to Hungary’s demographic decline, Orban pledged to boost birth rates with the help of family-friendly taxation. Tax incentives have fueled the housing boom and rising house prices. RESTRICTIONS ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND NGOs Orban’s government has cracked down on some NGOs and stepped up scrutiny of academia. As a result, the Open Society Foundations, founded by Hungarian billionaire George Soros, closed its office in Budapest in 2018 and moved to Berlin, while a leading liberal school, Central European University, moved to Vienna in 2019. REGISTERED CHRISTIAN VALUES Orban has been described as a defender of Hungary’s cultural identity against Muslim immigration and a protector of Christian values against the so-called “gender and LGBT ideology” and Western liberalism. For the past 12 years, the government has redefined marriage as a union between a man and a woman in the constitution and restricted gay adoption and trans rights. In June 2021, parliament passed a law banning school-sponsored material that promotes homosexuality and gender reassignment, prompting criticism from the EU and rights groups who claimed it was stigmatizing the LGBTQ community. EAST AND WEST Under Orban, the EU and NATO member has sought an “Eastern opening” to Russia and China and has advocated Moscow’s interests within the EU. He condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and backed EU sanctions against Moscow, but avoided personal criticism of Putin and strongly opposed a ban on Russian energy shipments, saying it would damage the economy. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Anita Komuves Edited by Tomasz Janowski Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
