Viktor Orbán became the longest-serving prime minister of Hungary
Beating the former record-holder Kálmán Tisza, on the 30th of November, Viktor Orbán became the longest-serving prime minister of Hungary with 14 years and 145 days.
Hungarian politicians commemorated the event and congratulated the fact on their social media platforms that Viktor Orbán is now the longest-serving prime minister of Hungary, Magyar Hírlap informed.
“14 years and 145 days. Historical times, historical results, and historical perspectives. From yesterday, Viktor Orbán is the longest-serving Hungarian prime minister,” wrote Judit Varga, Hungarian Minister of Justice, on Monday.
Tamás Deutsch, Member of the European Parliament from Fidesz, wrote: “It is a historical moment: Viktor Orbán is the longest-serving – 5,262 days – prime minister of free Hungary. Congratulations, my friend! That’s it!”
Kálmán Tisza was the record-holder among the longest-serving prime ministers in Hungary, with 14 years and 144 days, but on the 30th of November, Orbán beat the record as he reached 14 years and 15 days. He was leading the country for 4 years between 1998 and 2002 and has been in power since 2010 again. The third person on the current list of the longest-serving Hungarian ministers is György Lázár with 12 years during the Communist Kádár regime, and the fourth one is Count István Bethlen who led the country for 10 years after it was torn apart by the Treaty of Trianon.
According to Magyar Hírlap, this symbolic number has great significance in politics because it is more important to the public than, for example, financial data or statistics concerning the time of a prime minister’s serving. It is important because Orbán is here, in power in the present and not the past.
What made Tisza and Orbán successful?
- Both of them were elected during times of crisis, which the previous cabinets could not solve, resulting in the public losing trust in power.
- They could handle and overcome critical times.
- There was no other political actor with a genuine alternative vision.
- They created a political structure that institutionally helped them to stay in power.
Discipline is also crucial to make the economic and social vision a reality and therefore visible to the public. Political scientists mostly agree that Orbán’s party, Fidesz, is the most disciplined Hungarian party.
Source: Magyar Hírlap