Hungary Explained: Ferenc Gyurcsány

Ferenc Gyurcsány is a former prime minister of Hungary. More importantly, he shares the top spot for divisive politicians with Viktor Orbán.

Gyurcsány started his career in KISZ (the Communist Youth, the Hungarian version of the Soviet Komsomol). There is a video from the late 80s, showing a young Viktor Orbán, then a young opposition hopeful talking about his opponents. Even back then he singled out Gyurcsány as a smart opponent. 

Gyurcsány emerged again in the early 2000s and made it to the Socialist Party cabinet of Peter Medgyessy in 2003. When Medgyessy was forced to abdicate in 2004 he took his post and went on to win the 2006 election. The high flying career took a heavy hit in 2006.

Someone recorded a speech at a party meeting in the Balatonőszöd government resort at Lake Balaton. In this speech Gyurcsány admitted that they lied about their performance to the voters (“We lied day and night”) and that “we fucked up”. 

Rage and riots ensued and suddenly Gyurcsány became the most hated man in the country. He stubbornly held on to his position. It was only in 2009 when he had to abdicate so the government of Gordon Bajnai took over for the last year of the term. Between 2006 and 2009 Budapest saw mass protests, riots, and police brutality. 

Gyurcsány’s poor performance and the “Őszöd speech” was the main reason why Orbán steamrollered the 2010 elections. 

Gyurcsány kept active after the catastrophe. In 2010 he started his own party, the Democratic Coalition. 

Since then he has been a policial zombie. And a dangerous one at that. He has 10-20% support and since 2014 every single election campaign on the opposition side becomes a shitshow because Gyurcsány wants to be the main character and insists his party to be included in a “unified opposition” 

Outside of his party everyone hates him and thinks he is the Antichrist of Hungarian politics. Or one of the Antichrists besides Orbán. 

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