Viktor Orbán has now served 12 years as prime minister of Hungary, emerging as one of the most exemplary conservative leaders of our time. On Sunday, he again faces reelection as he seeks to lead Hungary for a fourth term. Although this is a pivotal election for Hungary and for Europe, it is also vital for American conservatives to hope and pray for an Orbán victory.
Orbán has shown what populist conservatives can do when given sufficient time and political capital to succeed. While it is true that Hungary’s system of government and its relatively youth as a democratic country have prevented the development of a U.S.-style “deep state,” Orbán’s refreshing willingness to use power for conservative ends has not only allowed him to deliver on ideological priorities but also to benefit the Hungarian people. His innovative family policies led to rising birth rates. His independent foreign policy has allowed his country to wield outsized influence with regional and world powers. And his fortitude on immigration has helped preserve Hungarian national identity.
Over the past two years, I have had the pleasure of getting to know several leading officials within Orbán’s government, including now-President Katalin Novák, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, and political director Balázs Orbán (no relation). Like Prime Minister Orbán, they are unabashedly patriotic, Christian, and antiestablishment, drawing the ire of globalists from Brussels to Washington. Nevertheless, Orbán’s government is standing strong, refusing to bow to the diktats of international organizations and safeguarding the Hungarian nation’s sovereignty and the Hungarian people’s traditional values.
Read More