But Orbán is no populist disciple of Trump: He was in power before, built a fence to keep out immigrants and refugees, and more than a decade ago introduced a new constitution that limited marriage to only one man and one woman and life as started from arrest, as well as other measures criticized as human rights violations. But whatever reception he gets from the CPAC audience in Dallas, the situation at home is showing cracks. A racist speech by Orban last week cost him an adviser who had worked with him for 20 years. “That’s why we’ve always fought,” Orbán claimed of Europeans. “We are willing to mix with each other, but we do not want to become a people of mixed race.” Orban has since said he is neither racist nor anti-Semitic, but his talk of racial purity has raised alarm in his capital, Budapest, where Jews were persecuted and murdered in World War Two. Rabbi Robert Frohlich of the city’s historic Dohany Street Synagogue said Orban’s words hit very close to home, particularly for the older members of his congregation. “Most of them are Holocaust survivors,” he told CNN. “They’re worried. They’ve heard this before and it didn’t end well.” Orban has consolidated power since becoming prime minister in 2010, having previously held office from 1998 to 2002. He won his fourth consecutive term in April by a landslide, but Freedom House, the US-based democracy research organization , rates the country only “partly free”. His economic policies have won him support, but with inflation rising, that is starting to change, according to economist Zoltan Pogača. “In the long run, yes, I think Orbán remains popular, but at this particular moment in time I think more people are skeptical of him than ever before,” he said. Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that Hungary has a declining population and forecasts that its GDP will fall by 2.5%. Hungary is also heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, and any supply disruption could plunge the country into a deep recession, the International Monetary Fund said. In Budapest’s central market, opinions vary. David Horvath, a juice seller, says: “To be honest, Viktor Orbán is not even liked in our country.” But Margaretta Krajnik, a butcher, begs to differ. “Viktor Orbán does everything for his people,” he says. “He loves his people.” Here, it’s a split decision. In Dallas, the reception from American conservatives may be more diffuse.
