An example of entitlement and impunity in the Orbán family

Littering is frowned upon in Hungary, through much of Europe and in North America. Today, the Hungarian media is focusing on a story that is pretty mundane and even tawdry on the surface, but speaks perfectly to the sense of entitlement and impunity that exists within the Orbán family. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s eldest daughter, Ráhel, was photographed in Croatia tossing a soiled diaper on the side of the road, even though a garbage can was well within sight. Croatia is a favourite holiday destination for Hungarians. In just the first seven months of the year, 338,800 Hungarians visited Croatia and this number will almost certainly exceed 600,000 before the end of the year–meaning that close to 7% of Hungarians will take a trip to the Adriatic country.

The chances of a Hungarian recognizing the prime minister’s daughter as she littered in Croatia were high. The Nyugati Fény news site first published the photos sent in by one of their readers, which were picked up by dozens of news sites in both Croatia and Hungary. Croatia’s Jutarnji List daily newspaper contacted the Prime Minister’s Office with questions, but has yet to receive a response. Former Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, a conservative, called the incident “horrible.” Meanwhile, we learn that Serbian and Bosnian papers are also covering what on the surface is a very tabloid topic.

Source: Nyugati Fény.

Source: Nyugati Fény.

Why this merits any attention at all is that it is an easily comprehensible way for Hungarians of all political stripes to understand the nature of the arrogance that is rampant among Hungary’s rulers and the immunity from any consequences that they enjoy.

Naturally, Hungary’s public broadcaster, the ignominious propaganda mouthpiece of the ruling party that it is, reported on the story differently: they attacked former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. The news site that published the photos is closely aligned with the Democratic Coalition, which Mr. Gyurcsány continues to lead. A certain Károly Pósa, writing on the public broadcaster’s site, opined that the opposition has no better topic with which to attack Mr. Orbán than by going after his littering daughter.

Everyone and anyone should know better: civilized people do not litter, period. We protect our public spaces, and perhaps especially when are guests in a foreign country. Ms. Orbán, who works in the tourism sector, should know this most of all. However, she does not care much, because members of the ruling family are entitled to do as they please.

The state broadcaster can be as sarcastic as it likes, and turn the attention to the opposition instead. Fortunately, a growing number of Hungarians reject government propaganda by tuning out. A more interesting story in Hungary than “diaper gate” is the rapid decline of Lőrinc Mészáros’ massive media empire in rural and small-town Hungary. Today we learned that The Fejér Megyei Hírlap’s readership (based on the number of print copies sold) fell by 18% this year, while the readership of Mr. Mészáros’ other county-level publications fell between 10% to 17%. In contrast, the demise of the conservative Magyar Nemzet has boosted the fortunes of the left-centre national daily Népszava, which now sells 21,000 copies per day–up from 19,900 three months ago.

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *