How does a country enter the shadows? You have to leave Budapest, its trendy bars, its eco-friendly mayor, to meet those who support Viktor Orban, who applaud his draconian laws despite the admonitions of the European Union. The Commission announced on July 15 that it had launched infringement proceedings against Hungary over the law prohibiting the “promotion of homosexuality to minors”. In this country of 10 million souls, the film "Billy Elliot", by Stephen Daldry, can no longer be broadcast on TV and "The Confusion of Feelings", by Stefan Zweig, is considered a dangerous book.
With Orban, Hungary fell into authoritarianism
A turbulent former student of the Soviet bloc, Hungary is not in the odor of holiness. With Orban, she fell into authoritarianism, after years of neoliberal policies led by the socialists: “For eight years, he governed at Kadar [a reforming communist]. Opposition was tolerated. But since 2018 he has governed like Matyas Rakosi, the Hungarian Stalin”, explains an anonymous professor. That year, Orban nearly lost the legislative elections. Since then, he has cut off heads, attacked NGOs in the portfolio, taken control of the media, theaters and universities, which have passed under a regime of private foundations supervised by his party, Fidesz. He multiplies laws against minorities, builds an anti-migrant wall and creates a mortal enemy, George Soros (American billionaire of Hungarian origin, symbol of the hated West), attacked every day in the media. The country is in constant growth but lives under the infusion of European subsidies.
Campaigning for the 2022 legislative elections against the coalition of all opposition parties, Orban presents himself as a defender of the rural middle classes, and his kingdom is located in eastern Hungary. In Debrecen, he never loses. Close to the Romanian border, it is the second largest city in the country. In the street, no police, nothing that distinguishes the heart of the Fidesz bastion, except a provincial languor, a clean city center, a reformed church with two ocher steeples and terraces crushed by the summer heat. The university is closed. In Budapest, a French diplomat suggested that we ask the inhabitants this simple question: “What does it mean to you to be Hungarian? Robent Ganyo squints his clear eyes and his rough face wrinkles. This 43-year-old server has always voted Orban. “To be Hungarian? I think first of the Kingdom of Hungary, when the country was strong, united. I cry every time listening to our anthem. But I don't know if I will vote Orban again, because the corruption is becoming too visible. »
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A little further on, in a wooded park, two young women are chatting on a bench. Rika and Vivianne are 18 and 20 years old. They will vote for Orban next year. Without passion: "He helps families", they assure. In order to fight against the country's fragile birth rate (1.54 children per woman), the Hungarian Prime Minister's family policy facilitates bank loans for families with more than two children. Further on, three bare-chested guys gulp down a local rosé in the shade of an oak tree. Shaved head, the word "Chikago" tattooed on his chest, Attila Kavacs looks like those football fans who chanted racist and homophobic remarks during the Euro: "I think Orban's policy against migrants is stupid. They are men like us. “Damn! Where are the real fans of Orban?
Not at that terrace where Petra is sipping a soda. She is 16 years old, wears a crop top banned in her high school and, on her arm, a bag in the rainbow colors of the LGBTQ + movement. Bisexual, she later wants to leave Hungary, and this bag shows her resistance. She is sorry: “Mentalities do not change. People have prejudices, they are very Christian. Petra first got involved when the Hungarian government passed another law in 2019 to ban anyone from changing gender. "For Orban, transsexuals are people who have had a heartache, that's the level. For my generation, he's that old uncle you're a little ashamed of. But it will not stop the changes of society alone! At the station, Melinda, 42, a surgical nurse, said she too was shocked by the law. She refuses to be photographed, because her department head is pro-Orban and she doesn't want any problems. “Orban is the clown on duty, a puppet. For two years, I have felt more European than Hungarian because of this government. »
Debrecen is perhaps too urban: you will not find chemically pure orbanists there. You have to go deep into the Hungary of the villages, criss-cross the puszta, the immense grassy and bushy steppe which extends in the east of the country. At Nordkosma, the bar in the village of Szentpeterszeg, very close to the Romanian border, Lazlo Kovac, 62, a railway worker, dances in front of a jukebox decorated with pin-ups, a glass of palinka in his hand. The apple alcohol turns her complexion rosy, her siskin is worthy of that of Cyrano. Around him, a dozen sullen guys are killing time. A sad Eiffel Tower decorates one of the decrepit walls. “We vote for Orban because we have no choice. I earn 800 euros per month. It is difficult for little ones like us. Overalls and blue eyes, Andras interrupts his friend: “Gays, they do what they want, as long as it’s between four walls. “Me, Balint gets angry, I don’t like Orban. He is corrupt. » Weathered skin. Sandals and socks. Solid. “We avoid talking about politics, because the divisions between us are becoming stronger. And I'll tell you, we too are afraid of Orban. “Me, proudly releases a man with a mustache in the prime of life, I am not afraid of him. I have a small cleaning business. The problem is that if you have no contact with Fidesz, you have no contract. Contrary to what you think, we don't really vote for Orban here. It is the Hungarians abroad who vote for him. Those from Romania, who come here by bus to vote for him. »
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We hit the road again in the puszta. The horizon stretches to infinity. Not a hill, the earth is flattened over tens of kilometres. Suddenly a farm. Two men dazed in the heat take care of a hundred sheep. “Hungarians Abroad”. In 1920, when the Treaty of Trianon dismantled Hungary, a third of its population found itself outside its new borders. Orban restored nationality to these Hungarians abroad. Lajos Szabo is one of them. He is 45 years old. Shirtless, wisps of straw on his cheeks, frowning, he is Sicule (Hungarian from Transylvania), born in Romania, who came to work here two years ago to double his salary, barely 300 euros: "Orban helps the children of Hungarian minorities, he gives money to our families. So, of course, we vote for him, ”he concedes. The lambs bleat, we talk about homosexuality: "I'm not interested in all that. I have never met a gay man, I just know that it exists. Everyone does what he wants. Me, I don't worry about it; my son would be homosexual, he would always be my son. »
We were desperate to find a real supporter of Orban in his own stronghold, and then we finally came across Mezo Gyula, the mayor of the village of Gaborjan, 894 souls. A tough guy in a Lacoste t-shirt, former butcher, one of the few Roma mayors in Hungary: "If you've been told bad things about Orban, it's because you've been lied to," he smiles. The service roads are mowed; the town hall, freshly painted. “It is thanks to state subsidies that we were able to restore the village. Mezo Gyula takes us on a tour of his commune. About forty workers are taking advantage of the community service set up by Fidesz to give odd jobs to the unemployed. In the purest Magyar tradition, they weave carpets with ancestral looms. This is how we encourage people to vote Fidesz... Mezo Gyula takes us to see his friend Shandor Micskai, a farmer he has known for twenty years, 2 meters tall, as wide as a cistern, also a voter of Orban. The farm is huge, clean, square. Sheep, pigs, cows, 500 hectares of land. “Without Europe, recognizes Shandor, I could not survive. That's up to 20% of my budget. All of this worries me. I believe that Orban does not know where the limits are, he is looking for them and I hope that they will eventually come to an agreement with the EU. »
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To his friend's chagrin, Shandor thinks the law on homosexuality is ridiculous: "Orban mixes homosexuality and pedophilia, and he attacks migrants to win elections. It is grotesque. Mezo Gyula frowns: “Muslim migrants do not accept our way of life. And I don't want anyone talking about homosexuality to my son at school! Shandor sighs: “Migrants, they just cross over. Everyone get out of Hungary! As for those who do not accept gays, they are the same ones who do not accept Roma, I point out to you. The farmer admits that he will still vote Fidesz in 2022, because the opposition coalition is too heterogeneous. Then he leaves the final word to his friend: “Everything I have done as mayor to help people is thanks to subsidies from Orban. I changed the beds in the kindergarten that were older than me. That's what I'm most proud of. “He lets go of what he thinks is a joke:” And then, thanks to Orban, finally, Europe no longer looks down on us. » 
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