Useful lessons in Magyar's path to defeating Orban -- good interview by Paul Krugman of Kim Scheppelle

Last edited Sun Apr 19, 2026, 04:02 AM - Edit history (1)

I recommend that all DUers read (or listen to) this interview carefully.
In fact, Krugman is worth reading just about every day. 💕 👍

Kim Lane Scheppelle is a Hungarian expert / constitutional scholar who has studied the march of autocracy in Hungary.
When friends say that Magyar beating Orban is a sign of things to come, it is worth looking at EXACTLY how and why he won.
Because some of this is very specific and can’t be easily duplicated. Some of it ‘rhymes a lot’ with what we know is happening here. And some of it are clear holes in our game in the US, that need to be remedied. Of note:
1. Meeting the countryside. Orban rigged election laws so that votes from the countryside weighed 3 times as much as those of city dwellers, and he had a lock on the media. So Magyar spent the past 2 years going out to the countryside to meet the voters thereby bypassing Orban’s media.
2. Corruption Tapes. Magyar and his wife Judit Varga went through an ‘acrimonious’ divorce. Magyar had tape recordings of their conversations. His wife was very much of an Orban insider, a successful attorney who defended Orban’s cronies. Around that time, the wife helped get a pardon for the principal of an orphanage who had allowed child sex abuse. Because of public outrage, Orban fired her. Magyar attacked Orban for “hiding behind a woman’s skirts”. He released tape recordings of his ex-wife giving many specifics on Orban’s corruption.
3. Creative party kidnapping and an EU election that proved viability and provided safety. Magyar ‘kidnapped’ a defunct party name and cobbled together his own party in order to run for an EU position. He won, which gave him a success story, a platform and ‘parliamentary immunity’ to help protect him from Orban’s excesses.
4. Some sex appeal, owning it, and AI offense as defense. Not phased by threats of some sex video, Magyar took it in stride. Magyar supporters jumped in with a flood of AI generated video of Orban in bed with Putin or with Trump. Essentially creating a pre-emptive blowback like ‘yeah, so what, Orban’s in bed with Putin’ or ‘Orban’s in bed with Trump’.
5. Connect the corruption to the underfunding of public services. Magyar repeatedly described how Orban made himself rich and damaged the economy, and he made eliminating corruption a central focus that appeals across the political spectrum.
6. Call attention to Russian bots, and use slogan of ‘Russia out’. Magyar released tapes of Orban sucking up to Putin, raising awareness of Russian interference, and crowds used the slogan.
7. We shouldn’t live with fear. Magyar encouraged bravery, demonstrated bravery.
8. Make opposition visible in spite of the institutions suppressing its visibility. His rallies were big parties, pulling people out to make opposing Orban a normal thing to do. Goes hand in hand with not living in fear.
9. Leverage useful international connections.

https://open.substack.com/pub/paulkrugman/p/kim-lane-scheppele-on-hungary?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web