Viktor Orban claims a 4th term and extends his autocratic rule in Hungary

Viktor Orban claims a 4th term and extends his autocratic rule in Hungary

Transcript¹

Hungary's prime minister declared victory in Sunday's national elections — claiming a mandate² for a fourth term as a partial vote count predicted a strong lead for his right-wing party.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has won a fourth term in office. The populist leader faced an unprecedented³ challenge from a coalition⁴ of parties from the right and left that united to try to oust⁵ Orban from power. It did not work. NPR's Rob Schmitz is in Hungary's capital of Budapest. He joins us now. Rob, this election was predicted to be tight. Was it?

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE⁶: No, it was not. Orban's Fidesz party easily ran away with this, winning 135 seats in parliament, compared to just 56 seats for the opposition⁷. In his victory speech, Orban said that Hungarians had voted with their hearts.

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PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN: (Non-English language spoken).

SCHMITZ: And, A, he's saying here that the victory will be remembered for the rest of their lives because they had to fight an overwhelming force - the left at home, the international left, the Brussels bureaucrats⁹, the international mainstream¹⁰ media and even the Ukrainian president. And he's referring Volodymyr Zelenskyy's criticism of Orban for supporting Vladimir Putin at a time when the rest of the world is condemning¹¹ the Russian leader.

MARTINEZ: Why was this such a landslide¹² win for Orban?

SCHMITZ: Well, Orban's nationalist, far-right policies are popular throughout rural Hungary, which is home to the majority of voters. These are folks who attend church and see Western values as a threat to their traditional lifestyle. The other reason Orban won so easily was mentioned last night in a concession¹³ speech delivered by Peter Marki-Zay, the opposition candidate.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PETER MARKI-ZAY: So we did everything right. And yet, the results show that after 12 years of brainwashing, Orban can always win any election in this country.

SCHMITZ: And he's referring here to how Orban and his party have gained control and influence over more than 90% of Hungary's legacy¹⁴ media. TV, radio and print news were essentially¹⁵ transformed into campaign instruments for Orban for the past couple of months. And many think this had a big impact on how people voted.

MARTINEZ: What does Orban's win mean for Hungary's future?

SCHMITZ: Well, it means that Hungary will continue to be Russia's best friend in the European Union. And it also means that Hungary will move further away from the EU. The EU is already cutting off some funding to Hungary. But Hungary still receives billions of dollars per year from the bloc¹⁶. Political scientist Zoltan Gabor Szucs thinks this funding could now be at risk. But he's also concerned about what this landslide win will mean for Orban's hold on power.

ZOLTAN GABOR SZUCS: My biggest fear is that they will think that they should go on this road downward toward further autocratization. And if this is true, then they can carry on with their policies. And they can survive much worse economic situation.

SCHMITZ: And as it stands, Hungary's economy is suffering from Orban's relentless¹⁷ spending on new sports stadiums and big-ticket infrastructure¹⁸ projects. Russia's war next door in Ukraine and inflationary pressure could mean a bleak¹⁹ economic picture for Hungary.

MARTINEZ: How are people there in Budapest reacting to this news?

SCHMITZ: Well, yesterday, I spoke⁸ to a voter, Esther Myzovari (ph). She voted against Orban. But she told me she knew he was likely going to win anyway. Here's what she said she thought is now in store for her country.

ESTHER MYZOVARI: I think it means more people leaving the country, especially young people, less human rights, especially for minorities, women. But, yeah, definitely, we're going to move towards the East instead of West, I think.

SCHMITZ: And she says there that she thinks Hungary is going to move towards the East. What she means by that is that she thinks hunger will now align²⁰ itself more with other autocracies²¹, like China and Russia, and away from the democracies of Europe and the West.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Rob Schmitz joining us from Budapest. Rob, thanks.

SCHMITZ: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

11 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

13 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

16 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

17 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

18 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

19 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

20 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

21 autocracies   

n.独裁( autocracy的名词复数 )；独裁统治；独裁政体；独裁政府

参考例句：

• She did persuade herself that there were no autocracies save that of Prussia. 她自己深信，除了普鲁士以外，世界上哪儿都没有独裁政府了。 来自辞典例句
• Autocracies can function perfectly well without news, but democracies cannot. 独裁国家没有新闻业，可以依旧运转；民主国家却不行。 来自互联网