Associate Professor in the SAGAS Department at the University of Florence. His research interest focuses on the political and social history of Eastern Europe since 1918. Author of The Orbán Enigma: How a Former Liberal Turned Hungary Into a Global Illiberal Laboratory (forthcoming 2026).
Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz was defeated by a grassroots movement that faced down systematic intimidation in an extraordinary act of popular mobilization. The attempt to restart democracy in Hungary stands a better chance of success than at any time since 1989. Caveats apply, however.
In eastern Europe, neoliberalism’s loss of legitimacy after 2008 benefits coalitions of rightwing populists, whose promise of stability addresses the psychological impact of the crisis on younger voters. These are citizens who have never experienced a shortage economy and who still aspire to a western quality of life.