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Conservative advice of moderation

June 12th, 2014

Two conservative analysts agree that Fidesz has solidified its power and closed the post-Communist era. They caution the government, however, against utopian social engineering and emphasize the need to rein in containing its own elites.

Has the revolutionary who destroyed post-Communism tuned into a utopian social engineer?,” Ferenc Hörcher wonders in Mos Maiorum. The conservative philosopher believes that the landslide victory of Fidesz at the April Parliamentary election has “put an end to twenty-five years of post-Communism”. Nonetheless, the government appears bent on continuing its previous style of governance, as if the complete overhaul of the legal and political institutions had not yet been completed, Hörcher fears. “The revolution has been victorious, so the barricades should be torn down,” he recommends, and recalls that conservatives are usually against social engineering and radical reforms. The new Orbán government, however, seems to have grandiose plans including full employment, the reindustrialization of the country and the complete reform of the banking system. Hörcher likens the government’s plan to transfer several ministries to provincial towns (see BudaPost June 9) “to the decisions of the ancient regime’s Politburo” which were made without consulting experts or local people.

In Magyar Nemzet, Tamás Fricz  suggests that the new Orbán government will be marked by anti-elitist centrist rule. After defeating the post-Communist left, Fidesz will now have to focus on reuniting the nation and creating a strong centre. To that end the conservative political scientist advises the government to address Hungarians regardless of their political sympathies through centrist messages. In order to overcome moral decay and to strengthen social cohesion, PM Orbán will base his policies on Christian Democratic principles, Fricz predicts. To complete its mission, he concludes, the government will have to focus on the concerns of ordinary people rather than on serving elites. This will require that the government must “contain its own hinterland” of strongmen as well.

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