Mark AsserApr 12

Just noting, for the benefit of people who are pointing out that Hungary's PM-elect isn't some sort of progressive saint:

1. Yeah, his party is centre-right, but it's also the furthest left of the parties with seats in the new parliament.

2. Winning a two-thirds majority in a system designed to disadvantage opposition parties is a seismic shift.

3. Look back over the last century-and-a-bit of Hungarian history and you'll see the red-rag Left doing many horrible things which have not been forgotten. You'll also see the interwar fascism of the Horthy "regency" and maybe you'll agree that Hungary can have a bit of near-centrism, as a treat.

So, this is where us outsiders sit back and shut up and watch as an antidemocratic system is brought back to something resembling normality.

Show threadmojalaApr 13
@MarkAsser True but it remains to be seen if Tisza will be able to remove Orbans support structure. And will they replace it with a democratic option or is it just Orban 2.0 just named Magyar.
Show threadEaterOfSnacksApr 13
@mojala @MarkAsser Wasn't that possibility linked to a parliamentary super majority, which threshold has been passed by now? Alternatively I wasn't skimming the news deeply enough šŸ˜
Show threadmojala
@eaterofsnacks @MarkAsser No i mean that now that they have the means will they just switch orbans cronies with Magyars cronies? Will they work to dismantle the possibility of amassing power to single (popular) party? Iā€™m really hoping that they will but am not very sure.
Apr 13 at 1:45pmWeb
Show threadEaterOfSnacksApr 13
@mojala @MarkAsser ah yeah, that's a good question. I guess it might come down to public opinion, which seems pretty fired-up, and how far the EU is willing to go to be the "better partner" compared to Russia in a way that makes him look good. I'd bet they're already working on that part.
Show threadmojalaApr 13
@eaterofsnacks @MarkAsser Which will give him the perfect opportunity to play both sides like Orban
Show threadEaterOfSnacksApr 13
@mojala @MarkAsser Yeah, I just suspect the balance is more in the other direction now. We'll see, I guess