Tainted Democracy

Hungary, once the poster-child of liberal democracy, is fast becoming an autocracy under Viktor Orbn. After winning an absolute majority in 2010, Orbn launched a series of reforms, fundamentally undermining the countrys twenty-year, post-Cold War liberal consensus. For supporters and foes alike, the rise and rise of Hungarys prime minister is a vivid example of how democracy can be subverted from within.Zsuzsanna Szelnyi, a leading member of Orbns Fidesz in its early years, has witnessed first-hand the partys shift from liberalism to populist nationalism. Offering an insiders account of Fideszs evolution since its creation, she explains how the party rose to leadership of the country under Orbn and made sweeping legal, political and economic changes to solidify its grip on powerfrom reining in the public media to slashing the number of parliamentary seats. She answers a key question: why has Orbn been so successful, winning widespread support within Hungary and wielding considerable influence in European politics? And how can Hungarys opposition party Together, which she co-founded in 2014, work to turn the country around?Underpinned by Szelnyis own experiences at the heart of Hungarian politics,Tainted Democracyoffers accessible, nuanced insights into the global rise of populist autocracyand how it can be challenged.