János Lázár is still a fervent fan of Viktor Orbán’s policies

A while back, when the Orbán government was no longer satisfied with the ideological orientation of Válasz, a weekly established on government money during Viktor Orbán’s administration in 2001, it turned off the financial faucet. As a result, the paper folded. Afterwards, some of the moderate right-of-center staff began a modest online undertaking, specializing in in-depth interviews. Over the months, some valuable portraits of leading politicians appeared on their site.

The editors of Válasz Online are especially pleased with a recent unusually candid interview with János Lázár, once the all-powerful head of the prime minister’s office. The title of the piece is telling: “I won’t allow myself to be shut out.”

It was in March 2018, only a few days before the national election, that the public realized that Lázár’s political career had come to an end. The consensus was that Lázár had become far too big for his britches and that Orbán, who got tired of Lázár’s often-sarcastic remarks, had fired him. Lázár remembers otherwise. In his version, during the summer of 2017 he told the prime minister that he wanted to continue his political career in Hódmezővásárhely, where he was born, educated, and led as its mayor between 2002 and 2012. I suspect that few people honestly believe that version.

On the other hand, he is more convincing when he describes the in-fighting that existed and most likely still exists in the inner circles of Fidesz. He portrays himself as somebody from whom Orbán always expected more than from others and who was punished even for other people’s mistakes. He claims to have been the target of malicious and undeserved intrigue. As he said, “even important Fidesz politicians believed that I, allied with [Lajos] Simicska and [Zoltán] Spéder, wanted to take over the party.” Most people are familiar with Simicska, but Spéder, a businessman, is less well known. He was financially involved with Index, which was under fire after 2010 for the site’s critical articles on the government.

According to Lázár, these Fidesz politicians “whispered untrue stories into Orbán’s ears from morning till night.” Lázár most likely didn’t want to remove Orbán from power, but it is apparent from this interview that he doesn’t have an especially high opinion of Orbán’s leadership as chairman of the party or as prime minister. In the interview, he indicates that he “will be different once [he] is back in national politics,” adding that “it not possible to stay in power … by communication alone.” Those, like Antal Rogán, who put all their effort into propaganda, “will build a castle in the sand.” Good governance needs “ordinary routine work and measurable performance.” It is not hard to sense that Lázár finds Orbán’s performance wanting on both counts.

In the course of the conversation, Lázár admits that Orbán is “the moving force of Fidesz.” The problem, he continues, “is that the second and third lines simply don’t exist in the party.” Lázár might be thinking of a new Fidesz without Orbán, perhaps led by Lázár himself, but we shouldn’t think that this new Fidesz would be any better than the one we have now because Lázár is an unquestioning supporter of Orbán’s strategy. He is a fan of Paks II and worked hard to convince the European Union that it should be built by the Russians. He is also a champion of cultivating a home-grown capitalist class, if necessary by favoring them to the exclusion of others. In his eyes, Hungary’s Lőrinc Mészáros “is no less a businessman than those owners of Austrian companies 50 or 60 years ago.” The outrageous TAO program (Corporation Tax Allowance), he believes, is the best way to support professional sports.

Source: Válasz Online / Photo: Szabolcs Vörös

Géza Jeszenszky, foreign minister in the Antall government, only today complained about the manners and activities of Péter Szijjártó, but Lázár believes “he is one of the best foreign ministers in Europe, doing superhuman work and doing it successfully.” His only criticism of Orbán’s foreign policy is its overly intimate relations with China because he sees a United States-European cooperation developing against China. And in that case, “Hungary must cooperate with the United States and the European Union.” Hungary “cannot allow Washington or Berlin to view [the country] as a Chinese spearhead in Europe.” This leads me to believe that Lázár, unlike his mentor, Viktor Orbán, is anticipating a Biden victory and a change in U.S.-EU relations.

On the other hand, he seems “to agree in principle” with establishing “an independent economic and political unit” in Central Europe “under the influence of Poland in the north and Hungary in the south.” This, he says, is “a workable political concept.” Although I do appreciate Lázár’s recognition of the dangers of intimate ties with China, I am baffled by his insistence on the necessity of an independent economic and political unit within the European Union. Lázár’s ideas on Hungary’s place in the world are just as bewilderingly confused as those of his former boss.

In brief, many of the things I find objectionable about the Orbán regime Lázár enthusiastically supports. For a long time, people had looked upon him as a possible and perhaps more moderate successor to Viktor Orbán. As we can see from this in-depth interview, this expectation was and still is nothing more than a dream.

October 19, 2020