Orban’s Propaganda Machine Keeps Hungarian Protests in Check
- The prime minister talks more about his immigration policies
- Nationalist leader envisions an illiberal future for Europe
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When Viktor Orban convened a press conference after a month of protests against his authoritarian rule, he might have been expected to devote time to reasserting control of the political narrative.
The fact the Hungarian prime minister didn’t so much as mention the demonstrations in a 16-minute address to kick off the rare event in Budapest on Thursday highlighted the strength of his buffer: one of Europe’s most powerful propaganda machines. Orban is able to drown out the rallies that have morphed from demands to scrap an overtime law into calls for the end to his self-declared “illiberal democracy.”