Democracy in Europe: What if Hungary’s election is not free and fair?


This is a Zoom webinar

The April 2022 parliamentary elections in Hungary will be the first in which FIDESZ has faced real competition since sweeping to power in 2010. If successful again, Victor Orbán would cement his power and strengthen an alliance of far-right forces across the Continent. The issue of the integrity of the election will be even more important than in the 2014 and 2018 elections. OSCE International observers have delivered a damning verdict on previous parliamentary elections in Hungary, complaining of “intimidating and xenophobic rhetoric, media bias and opaque campaign financing” and pronouncing them unfair. The closest election in Hungary’s recent memory could test our understanding of democracy and the rule of law – among the European Union’s core values, enshrined in Article 2 of the EU-Treaty. An expert panel will discuss both the prospects for the election itself and the wider implications for democracy in the EU and Europe as a whole.