{"id":19278,"date":"2024-09-15T06:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T06:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/?p=19278"},"modified":"2024-09-15T06:02:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T06:02:00","slug":"the-last-word-hope-for-hungary-lies-in-budapest-its-diverse-liberal-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/?p=19278","title":{"rendered":"The last word: Hope for Hungary lies in Budapest, its diverse, liberal capital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Budapest\u2019s ongoing support for liberal values comes despite the Hungarian government\u2019s best efforts to erode it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing that has always fascinated me about Budapest is the coexistence of the two, very different halves of Hungary&#8217;s capital: historic Buda and vibrant, commercial Pest, connected by majestic bridges over the Danube that link the contrasting architectural styles of the city\u2019s two sides, symbolising&nbsp;unity amid diversity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/culture-travel-sport\/why-budapest-is-probably-central-europes-greatest-city\/\">Why Budapest is (probably) Central Europe\u2019s greatest city<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/analysis\/economy-in-focus-hungary-2\/\">Economy in focus: Hungary<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/culture-travel-sport\/bathing-in-budapest-five-essential-swims\/\">Bathing in Budapest: Five essential swims<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Restaurants, bars and caf\u00e9s spill onto both Buda\u2019s and Pest\u2019s&nbsp;streets, filled with&nbsp;students, tourists, and local office workers engaged in animated discussions over beer, wine, coffee and food. The ruin bars of Pest, transformed from abandoned buildings into eclectic social hubs, pulse with music, art, and colourful characters. Street art with messages of hope, resistance, and solidarity, reflects the city&#8217;s creative spirit and defiance. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This vibrant atmosphere fosters a sense of community and openness, which I absolutely love about Budapest. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I just spent a few days in Hungary\u2019s capital this week, the latest of many, many visits over the years, and it showed me once again how alive that spirit of unity and diversity is in the Hungarian capital and how it remains a bastion of liberal values, even as Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s illiberal dominance pervades elsewhere in Hungary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is evident that since taking office in 2010, Viktor Orb\u00e1n and his Fidesz party have systematically reshaped Hungary\u2019s political landscape, undermining democratic institutions and eroding civil liberties. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite this consolidation of power, Budapest has consistently demonstrated opposition to Orb\u00e1n\u2019s rule. In 2019\u2019s municipal elections, Gergely Kar\u00e1csony, a progressive opposition candidate, was elected as the mayor of Budapest. He was re-elected for a second term earlier this year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During 2022\u2019s parliamentary election, Hungary\u2019s United Opposition won 16 of Budapest\u2019s 18 urban constituencies, leaving just two peripheral and suburban constituencies to Fidesz. Across the country, Fidesz won 84 out of 86 rural constituencies. This dynamic is emblematic of the deepening divide between urban liberalism and rural conservatism, but it also showcases Budapest\u2019s unique position as a counterforce to the government\u2019s authoritarian drift.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A liberal city in an illiberal country<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Budapest\u2019s ongoing support for liberal values comes despite the national government\u2019s best efforts to erode it. In 2017, Orb\u00e1n\u2019s cabinet passed legislation that effectively forced Central European University (CEU), a highly regarded institution founded by Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros, to relocate most of its operations from Budapest to Vienna, depriving the city of a key bastion of liberal discourse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another critical moment of resistance came in came in 2020, when the editor-in-chief of Index.hu, Hungary\u2019s largest independent news outlet, was fired under suspicious circumstances, leading to concerns that the government was tightening its grip on the last remnants of independent journalism. In 2021, Hungary passed a controversial anti-LGBT+ law banning the portrayal of homosexuality or gender transition in educational content and media aimed at minors. All these events led to massive protests erupting in the city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, Budapest\u2019s symbolic role on Hungary\u2019s political stage is not just about opposition to specific policies or laws\u2014it is about the broader struggle for the soul of the country. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The city\u2019s progressive, liberal, and internationalist outlook stands in stark contrast to the nationalist and authoritarian agenda pursued by the Orb\u00e1n government. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buda, Pest, and the third city of \u00d3buda\u00a0merged to form the single city of Budapest back in 1873, which in its unity and diversity has survived far bigger historical disruptions than Viktor Orb\u00e1n. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It will prevail, and I will no doubt return to admire it many times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Unlike many news and information platforms,&nbsp;<em>Emerging Europe<\/em>&nbsp;is free to read, and always will be.&nbsp;There is no paywall here.&nbsp;We are independent,&nbsp;not affiliated with nor representing any political party or business&nbsp;organisation.&nbsp;We want the very best for emerging Europe, nothing more, nothing less. Your support will help us continue to spread the word about this amazing region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You can contribute&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/emergingeurope.krtra.com\/t\/NlQnFuOA2C9c\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. Thank you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/emergingeurope.krtra.com\/t\/NlQnFuOA2C9c\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/copy-of-add-a-heading.png\" alt=\"emerging europe support independent journalism\" class=\"wp-image-50811\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Budapest\u2019s ongoing support for liberal values comes despite the Hungarian government\u2019s best efforts to erode it. One thing that has always fascinated me about Budapest is<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6594,7822,7821,21,6320,6875,7433,356,6613,6664],"class_list":["post-19278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-budapest","tag-central-european-university","tag-ceu","tag-economy-politics","tag-featured","tag-fidesz","tag-gergely-karacsony","tag-hungary","tag-society","tag-viktor-orban"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}