Why Is CPAC Traveling to Illiberal Hungary?
American conservatives announced plans to rally behind Hungary鈥檚 far-right Prime Minister Viktor 翱谤产谩苍 through the high-profile network Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a sign that their movement has increasingly embraced a hard-right, authoritarian聽worldview following Donald Trump鈥檚 presidency.
The Center for Fundamental Rights (AK, by its Hungarian abbreviation), a Hungarian government-funded organization that set up the event, first announced a potential CPAC gathering in Budapest in February 2020. AK delayed the event to late March 2021, and did so again after Russia invaded Ukraine, scheduling it for May 18-20. Should U.S. conservatives follow through on making the trip following 翱谤产谩苍's resounding victory in April elections, democracy advocates will be paying close attention.
of 翱谤产谩苍 note his , racism and efforts to derail Hungary鈥檚 democracy by using state funds to aid his re-election. He has 听补苍诲 choked out critical media by . Pro-government businessmen control much of Hungary鈥檚 private media, , which accounted for about half of Hungary鈥檚 total page views of independent media until 2020, when 翱谤产谩苍-sympathetic businessman Mikl贸s Vaszily purchased a controlling stake. Hungarian analysts warn the reality in their country does not line up with views traditionally associated with U.S. conservatism, including a defense of the free market.
Still, prominent figures with big audiences in the conservative movement, including Fox News鈥� Tucker Carlson, have either ignored or embraced these scandals and depicted him as a model leader. CPAC鈥檚 choice to collaborate with Hungary further cements the relationship between the America鈥檚 right wing and the authoritarian ruler.
叠耻濒肠蝉煤 Hunyadi, head of the Radicalisation and Extremism Programme at Hungarian think tank Political Capital, told Hatewatch in an email that 翱谤产谩苍鈥檚 mainstreaming of 鈥減opulist radical speech鈥� on 鈥渕igration, 人兽性交I and gender issues, opposition to liberal values [and] defending traditional 鈥榗ulture鈥欌�� has been instrumental to his rise as a symbol of success for the international hard right.
翱谤产谩苍鈥檚 rhetoric aligns with 鈥渃urrent narratives and messages practically coincide with those of the European new right movement and the American alt-right,鈥� the researcher continued, referring to an internet-focused rebrand of white supremacist ideology that emerged during Trump鈥檚 rise as a political figure.
The vanguard against Soros and migration
翱谤产谩苍 has helped shape U.S. hard-right narratives for nearly a decade. , 翱谤产谩苍 has positioned himself as a foil against George Soros, a Hungarian-American billionaire and financier of liberal nonprofits. Extremists of all kinds have contributed to turning Soros into a boogeyman for the right. They also drop his name into antisemitic conspiracy theories.
翱谤产谩苍 made Soros the face of Hungary鈥檚 migration crisis in 2015 when thousands of asylum seekers reached its borders. These migrants arrived amid a global migration crisis that affected nations in the , , the EU and its periphery, and the U.S.
翱谤产谩苍鈥檚 party Fidesz began a campaign against Soros that mirrored the white nationalist narrative that Jewish people work to replace white people through migration, or the 鈥済reat replacement.鈥�
翱谤产谩苍 said at a 2019 international summit on family policy that if Europe will not 鈥渂e populated by Europeans鈥� would be a 鈥減opulation exchange, and there 鈥渁re political forces in Europe who want a replacement of population for ideological or other reasons.鈥�
Hungary started building a barrier on the Serbian border in 2015. 翱谤产谩苍 depicted this and subsequent upgrades to the border barrier as defending 鈥淐hristian鈥� Europe.
Authorities also built detention centers for asylum seekers 鈥� largely from the Middle East 鈥� where authorities sometimes 聽from those whose claims were denied. Hungary 聽these centers in 2020 after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled them illegal.
As 翱谤产谩苍 railed against asylum seekers, hard-right outlets like WorldNetDaily, which has carried material written by white nationalists, and figures like 听尘补诲别 , mainstream. Former President Donald Trump ran on an anti-immigrant platform聽amid the ongoing crisis. Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign ran on banning Muslims from the U.S. and building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump鈥檚 campaign released an anti-Soros advertisement at the close of the race that critics .
Hungary increased its anti-Soros rhetoric in 2017, ahead of 2018 parliamentary elections. Fidesz passed the 鈥溾�� laws in 2017 and 2018. These laws forced NGOs with foreign funding to register and levied a 25% tax on foreign donations to NGOs that total more than $24,000. The legislation also criminalized .
The ECJ 聽these illegal in Nov. 2021.
翱谤产谩苍 is explicit in his reasoning for the anti-immigration policies. In a 2018 speech, he : 鈥淲e do not want our own color, traditions and national culture to be mixed with those of others.鈥� He also called refugees 鈥淢uslim invaders鈥� in a 2018 .
Carlson propaganda
Fox News鈥� hard-right populist Tucker Carlson, the network鈥檚 most popular host, has done more to lionize 翱谤产谩苍 to U.S. audiences in recent years than any other figure with a conservative audience. Carlson鈥檚 father works for a firm called Policy Impact Strategic Communications. They organized for Hungarian Foreign Minister P茅ter Szijj谩rt贸 to appear on Carlson鈥檚 show. The Fox News host has twice flown to Hungary to present his program, and then broadcast from there across consecutive nights. Each time Carlson brings up Hungary on his show, he presents a one-sided, positive vision of 翱谤产谩苍 and praises Fidesz policies.
Carlson also made an episode for his Fox Nation series Tucker Originals entitled 鈥淗ungary vs. Soros: The Fight for Civilization.鈥� The episode focused on Hungary鈥檚 immigration policies and the 鈥渢hreat鈥� of Soros. Standing at the border barrier 鈥� where authorities still use violent and illegal of migrants 鈥� Carlson said migrants are 鈥渃oached鈥� by 鈥淪oros-funded NGOs鈥� to enter Hungary.
Carlson praised the efforts of Hungarian border guards to stop immigrants, noting the barrier鈥檚 simple design of three parts and referencing the debate over how 鈥渉igh tech鈥� the U.S. border wall should be.
鈥淗ungary is a serious country that enforces its own laws,鈥� Carlson said, disregarding ECJ rulings.
Carlson also lauded Hungary鈥檚 policies on marriage and families. To sustain a population, experts consider necessary 2.1 births per woman. The EU鈥檚 statistics bureau puts the region鈥檚 birth rate at 1.53 per woman as of 2019.
Family policy
Fidesz has campaigned with an expansive family policy to incentivize childbirth. It emphasizes traditional roles for women, according to Human Rights Watch. HRW 聽the tone of the campaign as misogynistic. Hungary鈥檚 birth rate was 1.25 per woman in 2010, the year 翱谤产谩苍 took office, and by 2019 it had risen to 1.49, according to the World Bank.
Hungary offers huge tax incentives and a stipend of over $30,000 for families of three 鈥� almost two years of the 聽鈥� to purchase a home. The government also 聽to first-time homebuyers.
Families can apply for an additional payout of roughly $1,200 for each child beyond three. Hungary has also waived personal income tax for mothers who have four or more children.
翱谤产谩苍 聽the policies are an alternative to replacing the dropping populations of Western states with immigrants.
Carlson said in the 鈥淗ungary vs. Soros鈥� episode that Hungary is willing to 鈥渧iolate free market dogmas鈥� to encourage Hungarian families. Hard-right operative Jack Posobiec, an extremist and disinformation specialist who has associated with foreign neo-fascists, the policies in 2019.
Rights groups have long criticized Hungary鈥檚 failure to 听补苍诲 .
Hungary鈥檚 anti-immigration approach is among many in the EU and is not the most successful. France has the highest birth rate in the EU. It 聽but has done so far longer. It also provided greater childcare benefits as of 2015.
, 听补苍诲 the , Hungary鈥檚 Central European neighbors, also have higher birthrates. Beyond anti-immigration subsidies for families, Hungary has also 聽人兽性交 families from adopting children and 聽in June 2021 banning teaching materials that include any mention of 人兽性交 identity.
Although 人兽性交 rights groups and 听丑补惫别 聽as discriminatory, they align with U.S. hard right efforts to ban 聽in public schools.
Foreign guests
Hungarian extremism expert Hunyadi explained to Hatewatch that 翱谤产谩苍 has raised Hungary鈥檚 profile among the hard-right partly by inviting high-profile figures on the U.S political right to speak in Hungary, including and Dennis Prager.
Bannon and Yiannopoulos spoke in 2018. Yiannopoulos, a far-right Trump supporter and former Breitbart editor, lauded Hungary鈥檚 anti-immigration policies and called Islam the greatest threat to Europe.
Bannon, the former Trump adviser and head of Breitbart, applauded 翱谤产谩苍鈥檚 desire to create a 鈥淐hristian democracy鈥� rooted in 鈥淓uropean tradition.鈥� Bannon has attempted to unite Europe鈥檚 far-right parties in an electoral group called 鈥�.鈥� Bannon wanted 聽in Budapest.
Hungary declined to join, and The Movement 聽in Europe.
There is cooperation between Budapest and Poland, .
Poland and Hungary say they 鈥渁gree on 90% and 10%, [they] just leave out,鈥� Rafal Pankowski, a Polish political scientist and co-founder of the Never Again Association, told Hatewatch in a phone interview.
Pankowski said PiS, which first won a majority in 2015, has possibly gone farther than Fidesz in a shorter time. Similar to Hungary, Poland has , of media and for 人兽性交 people.
Poland similarly invites the international hard right. Andy Ngo spoke at an October 2021 event the Ministry of Culture hosted, and Posobiec and white nationalist Stefan Molyneaux visited Poland聽to attend Warsaw鈥檚 Independence Day demonstration in November 2018. Extreme far-right and fascist groups that 聽attend the Independence Day march and other demonstrations.
Pankowski said the 鈥渢en percent鈥� about which Hungary and Poland disagree 鈥渕eans Russia.鈥�
Poland鈥檚 far-right Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, head of the Law and Justice party (PiS, per its Polish abbreviation) maintains a hard-line anti-Russian foreign policy. Fidesz, for its part, 聽with Russia and 聽EU moves against Moscow.
PiS solicits support from 听补苍诲 聽in 2021 after Warsaw authorities challenged it in courts.
In contrast, 翱谤产谩苍 works to soften and elevate extreme rhetoric, to Fidesz鈥檚 benefit, Hunyadi explained. Fidesz walks a thin line between courting anti-immigrant and antisemitic supporters and offering them outright support.
Hungary arrested听补苍诲 deported white nationalist Richard Spencer聽in 2014. Spencer organized a far-right conference in Budapest to unite extremists across the continents. White nationalist Jared Taylor听补迟迟别苍诲别诲.
翱谤产谩苍 it, saying it was 鈥渁n attempt to breathe new life into Nazi and 鈥� fascist ideology.鈥� Police apprehended Spencer at a bar during an informal white nationalist gathering.
翱谤产谩苍 pits Fidesz against Jobbik, a hard-right party with a history of antisemitic and hateful rhetoric that has since 2018.
Cracks in the facade
Hunyadi noted Hungary鈥檚 acceptance of EU aid, and many of its domestic policies, should give pause to U.S. conservatives who 听补苍诲 distrust foreign aid.
These policies include Hungary鈥檚 , an issue close to the hearts of many mainstream conservatives.
Furthermore, Hungary has relied heavily on EU funding for its economy. The , meant for poorer member states, has provided an average of roughly 3% of the Hungarian gross domestic product (GDP) for years, , a Hungarian academic who focuses on the economics of EU integration, told Hatewatch in direct messages.
Some years, the fund has provided up to 7% of Hungary鈥檚 GDP, Pog谩tsa said.
Pog谩tsa said Fidesz does not currently need EU funding, due to the country鈥檚 post-COVID recovery creating an 鈥渙verheated economy with high inflation.鈥�
Once the recovery cools, Hungary will once again need EU support, Pog谩tsa said.
And the battles with the EU are catching up to the illiberal Hungarian-Polish alliance.
The ECJ ruled in February that future aid 聽over concerns about their democratic backsliding infringing on 聽found in treaties to which all EU countries are party.
Hunyadi said it is important to know the 鈥淗ungarian government has put great emphasis on selling the brand 鈥榠lliberal Hungary鈥� to traditional, conservative and radical and far right audiences across the globe.鈥�
Without illiberal victories inside the EU, it is unclear what brand the Hungarian government could sell.
Hunyadi wondered how U.S. conservatives who venerate the legacy of former President Ronald Reagan and 鈥渉ighly value personal, political and economic freedoms, would assess the situation in Hungary if they had a full picture of 鈥� Fidesz鈥檚 tight control over the political, social and economic spheres in Hungary.鈥�
The conservative movement鈥檚 hard right turn, and willingness to form alliances with 翱谤产谩苍 and his allies, raises questions about whether they value such freedoms at all.
Photo illustration of Tucker Carlson (left) and Viktor聽翱谤产谩苍 by 人兽性交
