A New Day for the Press in Hungary?
4/8/202622 min
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has led Hungary for the past 16 years, the longest-serving leader in the European Union. He has systematically brought the institutions of Hungary under centralized state control, from the courts and the press to the education system, gutting the democratic checks to his power. But political upstart Peter Magyar, head of the opposition party, is currently beating Orbán in the polls. Brooke sits down with Ivan Nagy, reporter for the Columbia Journalism Review, to discuss covering the campaigns, what new leadership would mean for the nation's media, and the lasting damage done to journalism in Hungary, whether Orbán wins or loses.
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First 90 secondsBrooke Gladstone· Host0:00
[upbeat music] This is On The Media's midweek podcast. I'm Brooke Gladstone. This weekend, Hungary holds its national election, and Vice President JD Vance flew there in advance to help boost the chances of incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an autocrat close to our president's heart.
JD Vance· Soundbite0:18
The bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary. They have tried to make Hungary less energy independent. They have tried to drive up costs for Hungarian consumers, and they've done it all because they hate this guy. I'm here to help him in this, in this campaign cycle.
Brooke Gladstone· Host0:37
For the past sixteen years, Orbán has systematically brought the institutions of Hungary under state control, from the courts to the education system, to the press, gutting the democratic checks to his power. So Vance's visit to Hungary is no surprise. Orbán's model of democratic illiberalism, dubbed the Hungarian model, has served as a kind of instruction manual for President Trump and the MAGA right. Last spring we talked about it with Márton Gulyás, a founder and lead anchor of Hungary's most influential independent media outlet, a YouTube channel called Partizan. Turns out, Partizan played a vital role in the rise of Péter Magyar, the opposition candidate now beating Orbán in the polls.
Márton Gulyás· Guest1:26
So this guy appeared in our channel for the first time in