Orban’s Fall Is an Astounding Achievement

Dr. Bottoni is an associate professor at the University of Florence and the author of the forthcoming “The Orban Enigma.” He wrote from Budapest.

It’s tempting to see Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s rule over Hungary as an aberration, a 16-year exercise in subordinating liberal democracy to one man’s will. But that overlooks how Mr. Orban’s regime revived a political tradition that has long characterized Hungarian politics. From the Austro-Hungarian monarchy until the end of Communism, one-party dominance and paternalistic rule were the order of the day. In this view, Mr. Orban represents not rupture but continuity.

Internationally, too, Mr. Orban is less an aberration than a model. Under his leadership,........

© The New York Times