commentary

21 March 2011

On 15th March 2011, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in his National Day speech clearly blamed internal political actors in Hungary for instigating and fuelling the ongoing debate on the newly-proposed Hungarian media law.  Is he right and if so, what does it tell us?

Like most political rows, the causes are generally complex and multifaceted – the media law debate is no different.  However, what should have been an internal Hungarian debate was quickly internationalised by the Left-Liberal community in Hungary.  The involvement of the European Union (EU) was eagerly sought and applauded by the Hungarian Government’s political opponents, although Brussels’ intervention was seen by Orbán and Fidesz as political interference.  Nobody doubted it was an unmitigated public relations disaster for the authorities in Budapest, particularly as it cast a shadow over the beginning of Hungary’s EU Presidency.