Democratic Innovations in an Illiberal Setting: The Case of Hungary

In 2010, the Fidesz party won a two-thirds majority in parliament, which enabled the adoption of a new constitution, which fundamentally changed the rules of the game in Hungarian politics. Among other things, the system of separation of powers was weakened and the electoral system was also fundamentally altered. Overall, these reforms strengthened the majoritarian traits of the political system. In addition, Fidesz has institutionally secured its positions by bringing the public media into line and establishing clientelistic networks in the area of economy. As Fidesz was able to maintain its two-thirds majority in four consecutive elections, the opposition's room for manoeuvre became increasingly narrow. Common indices of democracy clearly show that the quality of democracy has ever since declined massively. It is remarkable that the decline in democracy took place while the country was a member of the EU. Although EU membership restricts the regime's room for manoeuvre, it also provides the necessary resources to maintain it. Against this background, the functions of democratic innovations will be analysed. On the one hand, Fidesz has "colonised" direct democracy. It is trying to prevent referendums from being used against itself and has created the instrument of national consultations as a substitute, which the party can control from above. In addition, the government has held plebiscites and used them in a "two-level game" in order to mobilise its supporters domestically on the one hand and to strengthen Hungary’s position vis-à-vis the EU on the other. The opposition, however, was unable to use the referendum effectively against the governing parties. In the end, it developed the "opposition primary", an instrument that helped to overcome its notorious division with regard to the 2022 parliamentary elections, but ultimately did not lead to success. In 2024, both European and local elections will be. Originally, the elections were to have been held on two different dates. The governing party, however, has amended the electoral law and merged the two dates. In addition, the election rules have been adapted to make it more difficult for the opposition to organise a coordinated campaign. Generally speaking, it can be said that Fidesz holds the initiative in its hands, while the opposition parties are merely reacting. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyse how democratic innovations are used by the ruling parties to strengthen their legitimacy and advance their illiberal agenda on the one hand, and how they are or could be used by the opposition parties to challenge the current system on the other. The aim is to contribute to a systematic understanding of the function of democratic innovations in the context of an illiberal system.