THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - April 12, 2018 - Topic 2

Tightening grip: on Hungary PM's re-election

Hungarian voters have handed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a third term in office. In Sunday’s election, his right-wing Fidesz party and its Christian Democrat allies won around half the vote and two-thirds of the seats. This will give Mr. Orbán, who revels in his hyper-nationalist strongman image, the super-majority he needs to further tighten his grip on Hungary. The nationalist Jobbik party came in second with 20% of the vote, making it the principal opposition, with the Socialists getting 12% and the Green Party 7%. 

Though a high turnout of about 70% was expected to help the Opposition, the electoral process has been questionable. The technical administration of the elections was transparent and there was a wide range of candidates to choose from. But critics say the playing field was not fair, given media bias, a blurry line between party and government resources, and ‘intimidating and xenophobic rhetoric’. Over his previous terms Mr. Orbán had anointed himself as a spokesperson for ‘Christian Europe’, protecting it from what he sees as Islamisation — his campaign included posters of a stop sign superimposed on to an image of migrants walking across Europe. It is therefore not surprising that Fidesz performed strongly in small towns and rural areas, where Mr. Orbán’s anti-migrant message rang out the loudest. Over the last few years, as millions of migrants found their way to Europe, Mr. Orbán did not stop at just rhetoric. He refused to participate in the EU’s migrant resettlement plan and built a fence on Hungary’s boundary with Serbia and Croatia to keep them out.

He has also portrayed Hungary as a country at risk from foreign agents and has been accused of anti-Semitism. In a move seen as a bid to contain Hungarian-born Jewish American philanthropist George Soros’s work, Mr. Orbán introduced new funding laws for NGOs and passed a bill that would impact Mr. Soros’s Central European University. This is in addition to imposing controls on the media and tampering with the judicial system. A third term for Fidesz has implications not just for Hungary but for all of Europe. It is likely to polarise Western and Central European countries, which are wary of Brussels and want to see a directional change for Europe, closing it to migrants. In the European Parliament, the Fidesz is part of the largest party, the European People’s Party, a grouping of mostly centre-right parties that includes Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats; Mr Orbán’s victory could change the dynamics in this group, pulling some or all within it further right. Brussels has greeted the results with caution. But not all of Europe is worried; far-right leaders in France and Germany were quick to congratulate Mr. Orbán, and see in his victory a shot in the arm for their ideologies.

Vocabulary

Strongman: a man of great physical strength, especially one who performs feats of strength as a form of entertainment.

Example: Ivan ‘the Polish Piledriver’ Putski was a legendary strongman , famous for performing feats of strength prior to matches.

Grip: a firm hold; a tight grasp or clasp.

Example: His arm was held in a vicelike grip

Synonyms: grasp, hold

Turnout: the number of people attending or taking part in an event, especially the number of people voting in an election.

Example: He predicted a high turnout at the general election.

Synonyms: attendance, audience, crowd, gathering, showing, throng, assembly

Transparent: allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen.

Example: Transparent blue water

Synonyms: clear, crystal clear, see-through, translucent, pellucid

Intimidate: frighten or overawe someone, especially in order to make them do what one wants.

Example: He tries to intimidate his rivals

Synonyms: frighten, menace, terrify, scare, terrorize, cow, dragoon, subdue

Campaign: work in an organized and active way toward a particular goal, typically a political or social one.

Example: People who campaigned against child labor

Synonyms: crusade, fight, battle, push, press, strive, struggle, lobby

Portray: depict someone or something in a work of art or literature.

Example: The author wanted to portray a new type of hero

Synonyms: paint, draw, sketch, picture, depict, represent, illustrate, render

Tampering: interfere with something in order to cause damage or make unauthorized alterations.

Example: Someone tampered with the brakes on my car

Synonyms: interfere with, monkey around with, meddle with, tinker with

Implication: the action or state of being involved in something.

Example: Our implication in the problems

Synonyms: incrimination, involvement, connection, entanglement, association

Greeted: give a polite word or sign of welcome or recognition to (someone) on meeting.

Example: In the village street, many people stopped to greet me and welcome my brother and his wife.

Synonyms: say hello to, address, salute, hail, welcome, meet

Ideology: a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Example: The ideology of republicanism

Synonyms: beliefs, ideas, ideals, principles, ethics, morals, doctrine