Within the past 100 years, Hungary has seen the fall of a monarchy, the introduction and eradication of a Soviet-controlled communist government, and the birth of a powerful autocracy under the guise of democracy. The most recent Povolny Lecture Series welcomed Editor-In-Chief of Forbes Hungary Márton Galambos all the way from Budapest to the Wriston Auditorium on Tuesday, April 11, to talk about the history of Hungarian politics and how their current autocrat rose to—and remains in—power.
Márton Galambos was present at the reception that took place half an hour before the lecture, mingling with guests over light snacks and refreshments provided by the lecture series. When asked about how he felt going into the talk, he reported his surprise—and his excitement—upon seeing the large turnout. Márton Galambos said that this lecture was the first time he would be able to spend time professionally with his brother, Dwight and Marjorie Peterson Professor of Innovation and Associate Professor of Economics Adam Galambos. He hoped his lecture would deepen the attendees’ understanding of Hungary and its radically conservative political scene, and about what factors led it there.
Márton Galambos was formally introduced to the audience by none other than his own brother, who briefly shared anecdotes of the two growing up alongside one another, where he learned firsthand Márton’s ambition—which he called a “superpower”—to ask the tough questions and uncover truth where it was buried. This desire for knowledge led him to work for various Hungarian news outlets, where he worked up the ranks until he was selected for the Editor-In-Chief position at Forbes Hungary a decade ago. Adam Galambos concluded his introduction by welcoming his brother to the stage.
As the applause echoed across the auditorium, the brothers shared a fist bump before Adam Galambos sat down and gave the floor to his brother. Márton Galambos joked that they had never done something like that before, earning laughs from the audience.
After brief introductions, Márton Galambos wasted no time diving into his thesis; the alt-right political scene that Hungary finds itself in today was brought about by a series of “strongmen” leaders, as he called them, especially current prime minister Viktor Orbán. He recounted the tumultuous history of Hungarian politics beginning at the end of World War I, when the state of Austria-Hungary was split up and newly established Hungary lost land to surrounding countries. The nation’s dual monarchy survived until the end of World War I in 1918, after which point Hungary was independent and a partial democracy. The Soviets assumed control after Hungary lost World War II in 1948 and converted the country to communism. The Soviet rule persisted until 1989, when they were driven out, and in 1990, Hungary became a democratic republic with elected leaders. The country had a better or worse functioning democracy untill 2010, when the right-leaning Orbán was elected and remains in office to this day. Márton Galambos hypothesized this is because the people of Hungary “don’t care” about the political scene anymore and just want the comfort of knowing there is governmental stability, even under a one-person, one-party rule.
According to Márton Galambos, Orbán has been able to stay in power thanks to a number of gerrymandering techniques. Reluctantly, he admitted that although he thinks Orbán to be radical and detrimental to Hungary, the autocrat knew how to play his cards; conquering the media, business and banking sector and legal scenes in Hungary were the prime minister’s most effective ways of staying in power. While Orbán has not successfully eliminated independent media outlets—who are free to publish whatever they would like to—businesses or banks, his regime has brought a number of these institutions under government dependence.
Expanding on the media’s contribution to Orbán’s success in office, Márton Galambos explained that the outlets controlled by the regime are subject to contain subliminal messages in favor of the prime minister. This is especially effective, Márton Galambos said, with those in the countryside less apt to spotting bias in the news. It is not only Orbán’s beliefs being propagated, but also those of his allies: as the regime is allied with Russian president Vladimir Putin, pro-Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine is currently being published in Hungary.
Orbán’s propaganda is not limited to just the implicit bias in press publications. Márton Galambos shared photos of billboards and other visual mediums of alt-right ideas that he “never thought [he would] see in [his] life.”
Márton Galambos even drew parallels between Orbán’s ideology to certain parts of America’s political scene. He compared Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill to anti-LGBTQ+ measures taken by Orbán’s regime. Márton Galambos cited different American news articles speculating the connection to back up his claim.
Márton Galambos concluded the lecture by opening the auditorium to questions. The audience was incredibly receptive, asking a half an hour’s worth of questions about Hungary, the media and Orbán’s regime. He commented that Q&As are his favorite part of public speaking because every audience he speaks to is original with their questions.
Apart from the Q&A, the audience was very receptive to the speech. They nodded along to rhetorical questions, reacted with facial expressions, and laughed at the quips scattered throughout the lecture to lighten the mood.
Even though the lecture was about the current corruption in the Hungarian government, Márton Galambos said he hoped the audience would understand that Hungary is still a lovely place, and he is grateful to live there regardless of the political scene.
“Our situation is pretty bad, but it’s never black and white,” Márton Galambos declared. “And if you go closer, you see the differences between the black and the white—you see the gray area.”