"I was wrong, which I have a moral obligation to admit," said American analyst George Friedman, president of the Geopolitical Futures Institute.
"It seemed to me that control was slipping out of Orbán's hands, given that there was no sign of him resisting. I was wrong, which I have a moral duty to admit," said American analyst George Friedman, president of the Geopolitical Futures Institute, in a recent article .
Not long ago, Friedman wrote that the recent demonstrations in Hungary lead to the conclusion that the rule of the Hungarian Prime Minister has been called into question. As he wrote, he made the mistake of starting from the assumption that Orbán is a "strong man" who operates an oppressive system that governs by intimidation.
"Authoritarians rule by force and fear, so any demonstration that might suggest the regime's weakness must be defeated. In such a government, when such demonstrations take place, the police try to crush them with direct action and mass arrests. Orbán did not take such a step. I doubt he would be calm, but he did his best to show the citizens that they have the right to voice their opinion en masse”
Friedman said.
According to the analyst, "many in Europe and the United States who consider him (Viktor Orbán - ed.) to be an authoritarian leader may need to rethink the situation.
I never saw him as such, but I expected him to act in a state of panic, which I think he might be in, as a person would act in this situation."
Friedman also underlined, “Demons exist, but demonizing someone we disagree with is just as dangerous as real powerful people.
Orbán's reluctance to use force stems partly from the nature of his government, and partly from the fact that he wants to show that the European Union has misinterpreted him - and, importantly, he is doing the right thing by keeping Hungary at a comfortable distance from the institution ( from the EU - ed. ) .
Featured image: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's arrival in Brussels on the second day of the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) on April 17, 2024, in the image published by the Prime Minister's Press Office. Behind Viktor Orbán is Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister's press chief. MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer
