I got out of Hungary just after the birth of my first child in May. I didn’t feel Hungary was a good place for him to grow up. I’ve returned to the HQ in Frankfurt as you can see from my profile on the left ;).
The problem is that the main left wing party was so fundamentally undermined by scandal that the right-wing party got into power almost completely unopposed. This coupled with rising nationalism that gave the far-right Jobbik a good slice of the action, means that Fidesz can do pretty much what they like, while throwing the occasional bone to Jobbik.
So they seem to be rushing to implement changes that will make it very difficult to remove them from power (media control, constitutional changes, electoral reform), while at the same time enshrining Hungary as some kind of nationalist paradise (Roma, foreigners, poor = bad; Christianity, Hungary, Motherhood = fantastic).
Is Hungary going to become a fascist state? I doubt it, but they are certainly heading in a direction that is contrary to EU values. The EU occasionally reprimands them, and in response the Hungarian government makes a few amendments, and then carries on as before. The direction remains unchanged.
Are Hungarians supportive of a fascist state? Again, not really. They are largely apathetic in my experience. They don’t seem to feel that they can do much to change the way the country is run whether they like it or not. They seem to feel that they have been out to sea since their empire was taken from them after World War 1, swinging into the orbit of one great power or another, the Nazis, the Soviets and now the EU. They tend to blame these groups for their problems.
Are Hungarians nationalistic? Living in Hungary felt like what it must be like in 50s England just as large scale immigration started. People don’t hate foreingers, but they do hold many openly stereotyped views about them. A number of quite ordinary people I spoke to were openly racist about Roma, with sometimes more hushed racism towards Jews, and I was often asked “don’t you have the same problem with blacks in your country?” Foreigners are largely accepted without insult or complaint, but I got the feeling that I was welcome as long as I didn’t plan to stay and make Hungary my home.
But I didn’t get the feeling that Hungary was unusually racist or xenophobic, especially by east European standards, where Soviet inculcation meant people grew up believing that the evil deeds of the past, like the fascist Arrow Cross, were largely the fault of foreigners, or foreign influence, not something they should feel responsible for. Without that feeling of responsibility for their actions, like Germany has, many countries in Europe haven’t been forced to reconsider their views since World War 2.
