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John Weissenberger: Hungarians have dumped Orbán, but they haven't rejected nationalism

Péter Magyar’s victory might be a product of well-timed opportunism in a country fed up with a failing government

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When stopped in traffic, you may see a red, white and green-striped, liver-shaped sticker on the car ahead of you. No, the driver didn’t donate to an Italian medical charity; he would in fact be a Magyar (Hungarian) advocating the restoration of “Greater Hungary,” which includes all of Slovakia, Croatia and large parts of Romania, Ukraine and Serbia. This was one of the symbols used by former president Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in Hungary’s election earlier this week.

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In a fractious region, Hungary’s always been a contender in the Euro-nationalist sweepstakes. Arriving on the Hungarian plains as Asiatic nomads in the ninth century, the Magyars, with their unique language and culture, have been circled by alien peoples ever since. After 160 years of oppression by Ottoman Turks and even longer Austrian rule, Magyars pried power from Vienna 19 years after their full-blown revolution in 1848.

John Weissenberger: Hungarians have dumped Orbán, but they haven't rejected nationalism Back to video

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