SGI 2024 | Hungary | Key Challenges

Key Challenges

Recent Governments Experts

SGI experts on Hungary

Jürgen Dieringer

Jürgen Dieringer is associate professor for political sciences at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences at the German-speaking Andrássy University Budapest. His major research areas are the countries of East- and Central Europe and European integration. His publications on Hungary include Das politische System der Republik Ungarn. Entstehung – Entwicklung – Europäisierung (Opladen, Barbara Budrich 2009), and Staatlichkeit im Wandel. Die Regulierung der Sektoren Verkehr, Energie und Telekommunikation im ungarischen Transformationsprozess (Opladen, Leske+Budrich 2001). He has contributed numerous articles on Hungary to journals such as Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen, Südosteuropa and the Hungarian Quarterly.

Bálint Mikola

Bálint Mikola is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the CEU Democracy Institute in Budapest, Hungary, working on the Horizon Europe project titled “AUTHLIB (Neo-authoritarianisms in Europe and the Liberal Democratic Response)”. Mikola’s current research focuses on what policies illiberal regimes adopt in power, and what variations might be detected across different policy areas, with a focus on education and culture. In addition, Mikola pursues research on how illiberal actors communicate with their electorate, with a specific interest in top-down consultations and the use of social media as a campaigning tool. Previously, he conducted research on party innovations and intra-party democracy, with a focus on Spain and Italy, the findings of which have been published in Contemporary Italian Politics, among others. Until June 2021, Mikola has served as Head of Communications and Research at Transparency International Hungary, involved in various research and advocacy projects. Due to his experience in working in media, he has an interest in the relationship between media and politics.”

Petra Guasti (Coordinator)

Petra Guasti is an Associate Professor of Democratic Theory at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences (on leave). Between 2016 and 2021 served as a senior researcher, an Interim Professor and adjunct lecturer at the Goethe University Frankfurt. In April 2021 she completed her (cumulative) habilitation Democracy Disrupted at the Goethe University Frankfurt. Petra received her doctoral degree in political science from the University of Bremen. She also previously earned a doctoral degree in political sociology from the Charles University in Prague. In March 2019, she completed an eight-month Visiting Democracy Fellowship at Harvard University’s Ash Centre for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. She serves as an expert for Bertelsmann Transformation Index, Sustainable Governance Indicators for over a decade, and V-Dem since 2018. In 2020 she has been appointed to the expert board of the Nation in Transit (Freedom House).

The key challenge in Hungary is to restore full-fledged democracy. The state of democracy, the rule of law, press freedom and human rights are challenged by the very nature of the Orbán regime. Regime change is likely needed to achieve a breakthrough toward a more balanced, democratic and inclusive polity. The present government under Prime Minister Orbán and the Fidesz party is likely uninterested in implementing serious reforms aimed at such overarching objectives, and is indeed likely unable to do so. However, without addressing the meta level, reforms in sectoral policies will always be challenged by top-down intervention and deviation from good practices.

The power base of Fidesz at home is stable, but the international environment has become increasingly hostile. Since China and Russia cannot replace the EU and the U.S., and such a shift in alliance remains unacceptable to the Hungarian population, the regime must find a modus vivendi with the European Union. This should include refraining from further blackmailing behavior and reforms to the domestic system of checks and balances to avoid further steps by Brussels in the EU Article 7 procedure. The change in government in Poland deprived Hungary of its former partner that had protected Budapest using by unanimity rules in the EU’s decision-making process, and further isolated the country in Europe. Farther east, relations with Ukraine lie in ruins due to Orbán’s pro-Russian stance.

Liabilities in the country arise from an interconnected population decrease, brain drain and labor shortage. Although environmental sustainability is progressing, it is largely driven by external factors rather than internal conviction. There is a need for mainstreaming in this area.

Another critical area requiring mainstreaming is the empowerment of women. The gender pay gap and the lack of women in politics are notable issues within the Hungarian system, necessitating urgent action. Although the business sector is showing improvement, the problem primarily lies within the government, and is related to the patriarchal and retrograde Fidesz ideology. Addressing this issue requires an ideological shift and the acceptance of more inclusive societal values.

Regarding the governance model, one key challenge is to improve horizontal interministerial coordination. Expanding the number of ministries after the 2022 parliamentary elections was a good choice, and central coordination by the Prime Minister’s Office is strong, but creating an environmental ministry would make sense. Moreover, the lack of separate ministries for education and healthcare reduces efficiency. Both are now subordinated to the Ministry of Interior, headed by an ex-police officer. Moreover, public education and healthcare funding levels a(both of which are now under the OECD average) should be increased. Vertically, the territorial self-governance system should be strengthened, and the principle of subsidiarity should be enforced. This includes tackling the distribution of competencies on the local and regional levels, and upgrading the finances of municipalities.

Improving government-society relations presents a significant challenge. Several problems are apparent in this area. Genuine public consultations and the involvement of civil society organizations in policymaking are crucial for securing the long-term acceptance of government decisions by the general public. In Hungary, such practices are weak across all policies. Furthermore, quality control mechanisms such as audits, peer reviews and scientific advice suffer from bias and neglect. As long as the government continues to target NGOs and marginalized groups with hate speech and smear campaigns, the situation will not improve, and the divide within Hungarian society will deepen even further. Additionally, the resilience of independent media actors must be strengthened in order to preserve the balance of public discourse amidst a severe disparity of material resources and advertisement income in favor of pro-government media.

Finally, those involved in Hungarian politics should aim to prioritize policy-seeking over office-seeking. The prevalence of office-seeking behaviors is evident in the replacement of meritocracy with nepotism, the persistent high-level corruption and state capture by the Fidesz elite. If ideological, political and administrative shortcomings are not addressed, the country will fall behind compared to more dynamic and reliable nations in the region.