Is Hungary the New EU?
Jeremy Stanford
Hungary under its Fidesz government does not sit neatly or quietly in the collective EU mould. Hungary’s finance minister has described Brussels’ “imperial centralisation” as counter-productive to Hungary’s independent interests. And the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, insists that new unorthodox polices, such as those employed by Hungary, are necessary because EU answers to the financial crisis have failed.
It is of note that Hungary has historical form in raising rebellions – though regrettably less so in their ultimate success. But as the EU once again seeks to turn its institutional architecture towards ever-closer political union we may see how far, and with how much support, bold Magyar outriders for an EU of cooperating, independent nation states can upset federalist plans.