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ISPI expert,Serbia-Hungary vote confirms authoritarian drift
Voters have 'rewarded' the soft line towards Russia.
04 April, 15:02
(by Stefano Giantin)
(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 04 APR - Voters in Serbia and Hungary at
Sunday's elections reconfirmed the leadership in power,
particularly Prime Minister Orban and President Vucic. We could
read this result as "an acceleration of authoritarian drift in
these two countries," said in an interview with ANSA Giorgio
Fruscione, an analyst at the Institute for International Policy
Studies (ISPI).
"Orban is the longest-lived premier in the EU. Vucic and his
party will be the ones in Serbia who have overcome the
'psychological threshold' of twelve years" in power, the
threshold "at which Milosevic and democrats had stopped."
"Therefore, the democratic regression will continue," the
political scientist added.
Vucic and Orban, in their way, maintained a soft line toward the
Kremlin, despite Russian aggression. And voters in Budapest and
Belgrade seem to have "rewarded the Russian autocratic model, of
which Orban and Vucic are the main importers. As 'strong men' in
power usually do, they have reassured their electorate without
major international imbalances. In any case, one could almost
say that Russia loses in Ukraine but wins in Hungary and
Serbia", Fruscione underlined.
In Hungary and Serbia, the oppositions have not prevailed, despite more or less concrete attempts to build a common front against Orban and Vucic. But "the situation is so serious that, in reality, for the opposition, it has not gone so badly, at least in Serbia, where the oppositions return to parliament, and there will be the debut of the green left Moramo," Fruscione pointed out.
"In Hungary, the oppositions should be happy knowing that they got hold of Budapest. But, at any rate, in both countries, the control of the media and the disproportion in favor of the ruling parties was once again fundamental." After the vote, there will be now more years in power for Vucic and Orban. What to expect? "Another step backward in democratic standards," Fruscione said. "An erosion of the rule of law" is very likely, "to such an extent that the autonomy of the executive powers and judiciary is completely hampered. Political and media pluralism has gone into free fall, and party structures are omnipresent in state institutions. As well as a geopolitical oscillation that complicates life for the European Union." (ANSA).
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In Hungary and Serbia, the oppositions have not prevailed, despite more or less concrete attempts to build a common front against Orban and Vucic. But "the situation is so serious that, in reality, for the opposition, it has not gone so badly, at least in Serbia, where the oppositions return to parliament, and there will be the debut of the green left Moramo," Fruscione pointed out.
"In Hungary, the oppositions should be happy knowing that they got hold of Budapest. But, at any rate, in both countries, the control of the media and the disproportion in favor of the ruling parties was once again fundamental." After the vote, there will be now more years in power for Vucic and Orban. What to expect? "Another step backward in democratic standards," Fruscione said. "An erosion of the rule of law" is very likely, "to such an extent that the autonomy of the executive powers and judiciary is completely hampered. Political and media pluralism has gone into free fall, and party structures are omnipresent in state institutions. As well as a geopolitical oscillation that complicates life for the European Union." (ANSA).
