Hungary’s opposition stronghold mayor Gergely Karácsony says former prime minister Viktor Orbán’s illiberal system has not merely lost power but collapsed, as the incoming government of the Tisza party promises to restore democratic norms after 16 years of Orbán rule. In an interview in Bratislava, Karácsony praised prime minister Péter Magyar’s cabinet picks, said Budapest had helped to preserve democratic resistance during the Orbán era, and warned that Europe still lacked answers to the social tensions driving populism. He also called for a long-overdue “Budapest Act”, criticised billions spent on government offices in Buda Castle, and said Hungary’s fragmented opposition would need to reinvent itself from scratch.
In the interview we discussed, among other things:
What his relationship is like with Magyar;
How he will be able to work together with his former challenger Dávid Vitézy, who has become a Tisza minister;
What might happen to the luxurious government buildings in the Castle District;
