Page 12 - CE Outlook Regions 2022

alternative to vote out Viktor Orban from power.

Fidesz and its communication spin doctors are dissecting every
comment by Marki-Zay, who once said he would end fixed utility
prices introduced by the Orban government before the 2014
election, which has resulted in Hungary having one of the lowest
residential energy prices in Europe. Later, he backtracked from
his comments, which reflect how difficult it will be for the
opposition to get its messages across in a media arena
dominated by Fidesz and to launch reforms that might lead to tax
hikes.

Opposition parties are united over weeding out corruption and
joining the European public prosecutor’s office (EPPO) but
questions abound as to how to overcome regulations requiring a
two-thirds majority, such as the Basic Law or the rewritten
Constitution. The ruling party says the opposition will create a
constitutional crisis if it amends regulations requiring a
supermajority with a simple majority. Fidesz has packed state
bodies and institutions with loyalists, with mandates spanning
several government terms, including the Competition Office, the
media watchdog, the National Election Committee and the
Constitutional Court. With a two-thirds majority, lawmakers can
easily approve the successor of President Janos Ader, whose
mandate ends just weeks before the election.

Feeling the pressure from the united opposition, Fidesz has
unleashed an unprecedented spending campaign promising tax
rebates for families, a 13-month pension bonus and six months of
extra wages for the armed forces, and personal tax exemption for
young people.

In the election campaign, the ruling party will campaign on the
importance of stability and will ramp up its propaganda machine
in an effort to discredit and divide the opposition alliance. Fidesz
is taking advantage of the unpopularity of former prime minister
Ferenc Gyurcsany, who is seen as pulling the strings behind the
opposition alliance.

The European Commission has been taking a tougher stance
against Hungary by holding back Recovery and Resilience
Facility funding and these conflicts could drag on until the April
elections. French President Emmanuel Macron promised the
Hungarian opposition that the rule of law mechanism would be
triggered during the French presidency from January 1.

12 CE Outlook 2022 www.intellinews.com