How can Hungary avoid Poland’s fate?

Supporters of right-wing Law and Justice party which lost power in October parliamentary elections are gathering in front of the parliament building in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, to protest the moves by the new pro-European Union government which has taken control of state media, before. Poland’s right-wing opposition is urging supporters to protest against moves by the new pro-European Union government to take control of state broadcasters and the state news agency. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
By Dénes Albert
4 Min Read

Patriotic Poles are learning the lesson of what happens if they let their guard down for even a moment, give in to outside influence, and, especially among young voters, fall for the neo-Bolshevik inculcation.

It is very instructive how the traitors came to power in Poland. In recent years, we have seen that Polish sovereignist politics has grown tired and the messaging of the Law and Justice (PiS) conservative party became confused, especially under the pressure of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Their capacity for self-defense diminished, they even forgot how to build a national media network, and watched on with their hands folded as much of the press fell into the hands of the global do-gooders, and more specifically into the net of George Soros’ foundations.

With the arrest of members of the former PiS government, the takeover and silencing of the regime-changing Polish public media, and most recently in an almost unbelievable development, the ousting of the prosecutor general, the conservative opposition is now scrambling to get its house in order.

It seems that, armed with Washington-Brussels protectors, the liberal administration led by Donald Tusk can do anything so far without consequences. And since there is no longer any question of a solution based on the rule of law or a democratic counterweight, it is to be feared that, in the absence of a legal way forward, tensions between winners and losers will continue to rise. God save Poland from a civil war!

Last week, the Hungarian think tank Nézőpont Institute brought together representatives of five public opinion research and analysis companies that track national mood. This gave us fairly reliable and consistent data showing that confidence in the Orbán government is unbroken, with the war economy shock of summer 2022 causing only a slight wobble.

In other words, unlike the Poles, we Hungarians have learned a lesson: In hard times, don’t change the winning team! Confidence is also a testimony to the government’s ability to handle a crisis, as the other questions showed exactly that the population is fully aware of the difficulties and its own existential problems.

We do not, therefore, want the calamities of 2002 and 2006 to happen again. The fall of the Polish sovereignists should serve as a reminder that the danger has not passed and that if we are weak, our enemies will immediately attack the nation.

But the broadly understood government side must also do its job. The problem is not, of course, with the regime-changing politicians, the icons and great veterans of the national side, but with the aspiring elite clubs, existentially settled for eternal life, exchanging our ideals, forged in the sublime debates of centuries, for mere interest and loyalty to each other.

They must be reminded that we will only remain strong if we take a broad approach, if all Hungarians really matter, and if constructive criticism and the will to improve can find open ears, and the members of our camp can find open doors. If we not only say but also believe that “together we are strength, but apart we are weakness.”

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