Here is how PM Orbán uses TikTok to gain youth’s vote
Viktor Orbán, donning a Santa hat or playfully embracing a Western hero persona, is making waves on the social media platform popular among the youth. According to experts, this unconventional approach holds the potential to translate into votes.
Viktor on TikTok
“If I were involved in political consultancy, I would advise every politician to move onto TikTok, the social media realm of Generation Z. Why? Because a segment of the present youth is either already a voting citizen or will soon become one,” remarked Merkovity Norbert, the Head of the Department of Political Science at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the University of Szeged, in an interview with Népszava. The expert’s commentary was prompted by the recent trend of Hungarian politicians, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, venturing into the realm of TikTok in the current year.
This summer, from his active account that has been buzzing for the past six months, he made a spirited entrance onto TikTok, announcing, “Hey, folks, I’ve just arrived on TikTok!” The announcement itself exuded a youthful vibe, as he playfully parodied himself by alluding to a past interview with Telex. In the original video, the portal’s journalist tries to engage the prime minister, arriving from a church service, in a conversation about poverty, to which he simply responds, “Hey, I’ve just come from the church!” (“Ember, most jövök a templomból!”).
Viktor_a_tiktokon’s page has garnered nearly 120,000 followers, with his posts amassing a total of 2.1 million likes (Viktor_a_tiktokon means Viktor on TikTok). With these impressive figures, the Prime Minister is comfortably leading the pack among all Hungarian politicians and parties on the platform.
No communication, only boosting popularity
As Népszava writes, Orbán, one of the foremost figures in public office, lends his image to videos on TikTok that often lack substantive communication or content, existing solely to boost popularity.
“TikTok represents a generational leap. While Facebook hosts broad masses of voters, Instagram, mainly image-centric, was popularised by the 30-40 age group, who have also entered the voting age and are more active in politics due to their age. However, the younger generation always seeks opportunities where they can be present without the older generation, and currently, that space is TikTok,” emphasised Merkovity Norbert.
“Regardless of what anyone says, there is demand for Viktor Orbán, adorned in a drawn Santa hat or playing the role of a Western hero,” expressed Lévai, who believes that the Prime Minister’s videos clearly demonstrate a significant amount of behind-the-scenes work. “These are fast, dynamic, finely crafted videos.”
Even though it seems that Orbán Viktor being present and active on TikTok, the platform of the youth, definitely reaches its goal of generating popularity, whether this role fits the country’s foremost figure still remains a question.
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Wearing a Santa hat isn’t going to get support from young people if they feel they have no future in Hungary. What they said more than a century ago still hasn’t changed: “Go west young man.” Go west while the idiots go east into the malicious arms of Putin’s Russia and the Communist Party of China.