Zoltán goes out in the center of Martonvásár, a small town of 5,700 inhabitants. “I feel good here, there is everything you need in terms of culture, sport, health, and infrastructure,” remarks the former school supplies company employee. Renovated square, cultural center, health center, synthetic football field…
Controlled by Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, this town located thirty kilometers from Budapest has benefited from numerous investments from the Hungarian state and the European Union. The conservative leader’s party has won all local and national elections since 2010. For this 69-year-old resident, there is no hesitation. In the legislative elections on April 12, he will vote for Fidesz, despite the many scandals surrounding it: corruption, violations of the rule of law and European Union values, proximity to Moscow despite the war in Ukraine… These divergences have led to multiple sanctions from the European Union against the Hungarian government since 2018.
On the contrary, Zoltán sees Orbán as a defender of the rule of law: “I experienced dictatorship in Hungary. Under the communist era (1948-1989), my parents told me to be careful about what I said. We easily ended up in prison. During a rally in June 1989, Viktor Orbán dared to proclaim in front of the crowd that the Soviets should go home.”
What he likes about Viktor Orbán? “His patriotism” but also his “commonsense”. “He comes from a small village. He speaks clearly, we understand what he says. And he has tremendous experience, political acumen, historical knowledge… everything it takes to be a good politician,” says the supporter. For Zoltán, the strong man of Budapest is a visionary.
In 2015, Orbán recognized what no one saw coming at the time: that if immigration is not stopped, there will be big economic and security problems. “I’m not jealous of Austrians, French, or Germans, because what migrants do there is problematic. I respect Viktor Orbán a lot for that.” As for the recent revelations of collusion between the Hungarian foreign minister and his Russian counterpart, who is blamed for giving strategic information to Russia on the sidelines of meetings in Brussels, Zoltán admits he has not heard of it. “I watch right-wing media, like public television, private channels, and online newspapers.” Since his return to power in 2010 after a first term from 1998 to 2002, Viktor Orbán’s camp has multiplied attacks on press freedom and now controls the majority of the country’s media.
Like the two million retirees in the country of 9.5 million inhabitants, he benefits from a thirteenth month of retirement, and recently, a fourteenth month partially paid just before the elections. Izabella takes her 2 and 4-year-old children for a walk in the park near the market square. She also appreciates the government’s pro-natalist policies. “We had a zero-interest ‘baby loan’, with which we could buy our house without interest.”
This assistance allowed the thirty-year-old to finance a quarter of the price of her house. “And then there is the non-taxation. As a mother of two children, I do not pay income tax, which represents an additional 90,000 forints (a little over 200 euros) per month.” At the exit of the supermarket, Tamás, 68, will vote for stability: “I don’t particularly like Viktor Orbán, but he is an intelligent and experienced man. In this uncertain world, if completely inexperienced people come to power, in my opinion, it would be very bad for the country.” The 68-year-old florist has made his predictions: “There will be an indecisive parliament and it will not be good for the country in any case. It’s going to be close, with one or two votes determining the outcome.”
