
Hungary opposition figures urge Democrats to organize against autocratic takeover by Trump
Katalin Cseh, a critic of Hungary's strongman prime minister, Viktor Orbán, told a forum on authoritarianism that the central European country's experience held vital lessons for Trump's opponents in their attempts to resist his assaults on US institutions and democratic norms since his return to the White House.
Hungary was important because Trump and his 'Make America great again' (Maga) movement have used Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party as a role model, she said.
'I invite everybody to study the processes that happened [in Hungary] and elsewhere, because autocratic learning is real,' said Cseh, a member of Hungary's opposition Momentum Movement. 'Backsliding just went by us like a train, without anybody realizing how far it had gotten. So it's very important to pay attention from the very beginning … [and] to mobilize.'
Hungary, a European Union and Nato member, is often cited as an example of a formerly liberal democracy devolving into a competitive autocracy. Orbán – who has trumpeted his belief in 'illiberal democracy' – has cemented his power over the courts, the media and universities during 15 years in office and four consecutive election victories.
Addressing a webinar organized by the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based thinktank, Cseh warned US voters against believing their country was immune to such developments.
'I do believe that many Americans that think this is something that also only happens to others, and I think that mindset has to be fought,' she said.
'Start preparing for the midterms like yesterday. Go to every protest, go to every march, stand right beside everybody who is being attacked, no matter if it is a group you belong to, or something that you do not share personally. You have to stand side by side [with] each other and help and support those who might feel isolated and alone.'
She urged Democrats and activists to form a widely inclusive 'movement' and find 'candidates for the midterms or any election that is coming your way who can get people excited – not necessarily the same old faces they have been seeing all the time that they don't really trust that much, but visionary leaders … who are part of a community, who are being persecuted.'
Leaders such as Trump and Orbán could only be effectively opposed, she said, by ditching a 'legalistic, technical, technocratic approach' in favor of 'something for the electorate to be excited about'.
'Autocrats are not always good in governing. So cost of living, crisis of healthcare, education – if the focus is shifted to these areas, and not only technical descriptions of what's going on in the courts, this is something that people can relate to more.'
The parallels with Hungary came as opinion polls show Orbán on course to lose next year's general election to the opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, a former member of the prime minister's party.
Sign up to This Week in Trumpland
A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration
after newsletter promotion
In a striking sign of Orbán's declining authority, his government's attempt to ban last month's annual Pride march in Budapest backfired when an estimated 100,000 people took to the streets in defiance. Previous such events have been attended by a few thousand LGBTQ+ activists.
Szabolcs Panyi, a journalist with the Hungarian website Direkt36, said Trump's approach to the media drew on a playbook used by Orbán, who deployed a range of measures to curtail journalists' independence.
These included banishing established outlets from briefings in favor of friendly journalists and 'propagandists', an approach emulated by the White House, which has excluded journalists from the Associated Press and invited representatives from rightwing organizations and social media influencers.
'What particularly rings out is how certain large media outlets or owners or large conglomerates try to appease Donald Trump by settling lawsuits or by firing journalists [or] editors,' he said. 'It really resembles what happened in Hungary in the 2010s.'
Paramount Global, the owners of CBS, reached a $16m settlement with Trump this month after he lodged a $10bn suit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, his 2024 Democratic presidential opponent. ABC agreed to pay Trump $15m last December after he sued over an inaccurate characterization of his conviction over sexual assault allegations brought by the writer E Jean Carroll.
Panyi said Trump's attempts to slash funding for public broadcasters such as PBS and Voice of America were also inspired by Orbán.
'[Orbán] went after public radio, public TV, and in a matter of a couple of months, it was already transformed into propaganda,' he said. 'It's scary to see similar things happening in the United States. Solidarity is especially important, so whenever there are similar things happening, there should be protests. Journalists should support their colleagues and tell readers that if it happens to one outlet, it can happen to others as well.'
Ceylan Akçe, a member of Turkey's pro-Kurdish People's Equality and Democracy party, said more than two decades of rule under the country's authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had demonstrated that political opponents should not 'wait for the storm to pass'.
'It's going to continue to rain,' she said. 'If you wait for it to stop, it won't, and while you're in the eye of the storm, you have to continue to mobilize and never be discouraged.'
Tamara Tripic, an opposition parliamentarian in Serbia, where Aleksandar Vučić, the president, is accused of instituting an autocracy that has provoked waves of opposition protests, warned that modern authoritarians camouflaged their actions behind a cloak of legality.
'We have to be aware that they are using [tools that] are usually legal but misused, institutional but hollowed out, democratic in appearance but authoritarian in essence,' she said. 'It doesn't look like dictatorship, but it's functioning like one. Our problem, especially if you are progressive, is that … usually people are afraid of the freedom we are offering. They are willing to trade some … freedom for the illusion of order, identity and security.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
Foreign oil companies in Venezuela await US authorizations, sources say
HOUSTON, July 29 (Reuters) - About a half dozen foreign partners of Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA are awaiting authorizations from the U.S. Treasury and State departments, following talks last week about fresh licenses to allow them to operate in the sanctioned South American country, according to six company sources. The companies' licenses, including a key one for U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, were revoked by President Donald Trump's administration in March over the Venezuelan government's response to migration issues and what Trump said was its lack of progress toward restoring democracy. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said last week that Chevron had informed his government about a fresh authorization to come, and PDVSA began preparations to allocate oil cargoes to its joint-venture partners in coming months, once authorized. But companies including Chevron, Italy's Eni ( opens new tab, Spain's Repsol ( opens new tab, France's Maurel & Prom ( opens new tab and India's Reliance Industries ( opens new tab are still waiting for the licenses, the sources said. Most of the companies are minority stakeholders in key oil and gas projects with PDVSA, while others including Reliance are among Venezuela's largest buyers of oil. In the first quarter this year, before their licenses were canceled, they were responsible for about 40% of the country's total 881,000 barrels per day of exports. Some firms have informed staff and contractors in Venezuela about permits to come, without elaborating on dates or terms, according to two of the sources. Chevron declined to comment specifically on the licenses. The company said it conducts its business globally in compliance with laws and regulations, as well as the U.S. sanctions framework. A spokesperson for Maurel & Prom told Reuters in an email on Tuesday that the firm has not received any license yet. Eni, Repsol, Reliance and PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday the U.S. remained firm in its "unwavering support to Venezuela's restoration of democratic order and justice." Rubio had in May blocked a move by U.S. special envoy Richard Grenell to extend the period in which the previous authorizations for oil operations were allowed to wind down. He did not refer to the oil authorizations in Sunday's release. The Treasury Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the licenses. A State Department spokesperson said they would not comment about any specific licenses, but the U.S. government would not allow Maduro's administration to profit from the sale of oil. Chevron has not yet instructed tankers' owners or captains to go to Venezuelan waters for an eventual resumption of oil cargoes, while PDVSA's loading schedules do not show any supplies to its joint-venture partners for July, according to shipping documents and sources.


Channel 4
5 minutes ago
- Channel 4
Trump talks Gaza, tariffs and golf in five-day visit to Scotland
Air Force One has taken off from Scotland with Donald Trump on board after a five-day visit which included talks on everything from Gaza to tariffs and a lot of golf on his own courses. Mr Trump had a brief meeting earlier today with the Scottish First Minister John Swinney describing him as a 'very special guy'.

The National
5 minutes ago
- The National
Donald Trump's Scottish golf course cordon remains as bomb squad investigates
Police Scotland said the cordon had been removed at the Menie Estate, Aberdeenshire, after officers carried out checks on a vehicle and had determined there was no criminality. However, police have now said that as the cordon was being removed, members from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment requested to carry out further checks of the vehicle. Police have confirmed that the lock down of the entrance is still ongoing. READ MORE: Funding golf tournament was not attempt to butter up Donald Trump, says John Swinney A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'As the cordon was being removed, military colleagues from EOD requested to carry out further checks on the vehicle. 'These remain ongoing, and the decision has been taken to maintain the cordon at this time.' Members of the public, journalists and staff at the site were evacuated from the entrance to the course and moved beyond a crash barrier after the alarm was raised. One report has claimed that people had been blocked from leaving the area for more than an hour. Earlier in the day, Trump teed off at the New Course in Menie in front of a crowd including golfers, the Scottish First Minister and the Scottish Labour leader. Trump also made reference to late James Bond actor Sean Connery's reported support for his golf resort – even attempting to recreate the actor's voice. (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) Just before hitting the first ball at the New Course, the US president told those gathered on a grandstand: 'We started with a beautiful piece of land, but we made it much more beautiful. 'The area has really welcomed us. If you remember at the beginning there wasn't quite a welcome, but it wasn't bad. 'But with time they liked us more and more, now they love us and we love them.' Critics have claimed that the Trump developments in Scotland have not delivered as many jobs as promised and that work at the Menie site has caused environmental damage.