00:00Viktor Orban has been ruling Hungary with absolute power, including the authority to amend the Constitution for 16 years.
00:08The politician began as a student activist against Hungary's soft communist dictatorship in 1989.
00:15He drew attention by demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops at a high-profile mass rally.
00:20In the 1990s, he transformed Fidesz, the party that had emerged from the student movement,
00:26from a liberal to a conservative party, and ousted his rivals within the party.
00:31In 1998, at the age of 35, he became prime minister for the first time.
00:36His four-year tenure advanced the goals set at a time of the regime change, economic convergence, and NATO and
00:43EU membership,
00:44but he lost in the 2002 election to the social-liberal coalition, as he did in 2006.
00:51During the socialist second term, which was plagued by one scandal after another,
00:56the economic crisis struck, sweeping away Fidesz's former rivals.
01:00And Orban came to power in 2010 with a massive mandate and a constitutional majority.
01:07He completely reshaped Hungary's political system to suit his own goals.
01:12Orban's dominance in domestic politics was unquestioned for a long time.
01:17His focus shifted to foreign policy and he gradually became the ideological leader of the populist opposition within the European
01:26Union and then of populists worldwide,
01:29championing issues of lesser importance to Hungary, such as immigration and gender issues.
01:35Ultimately, he also clashed with the EU mainstream over support for Ukraine while building close ties with Russian President Vladimir
01:42Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
01:44The deteriorating economic situation, the abuses of power during 16 years of absolute rule, corruption and the deviation from the
01:521989 foreign policy course aimed at Western integration,
01:56have by 2026 produced a challenger with a real chance of victory, the TISA party, thus making Orban's hold on
02:03power precarious.
02:041
02:061
02:06L
Comments