Down to the wire in a contest between confirming the most recent parliamentary election and the present government’s mainstream Western liberalism, and the previous government’s Orban-esque, Trump-lite, EU-disruptive conservatism.
It sounds like this is a referendum on “Do you want to be conquered by Putin, yes or no?”, and they’re running neck and neck? How is that possible?
If there’s anything the past decade has taught me, it’s that propaganda is extremely effective in gaslighting a good portion of the population into thinking being boned up the ass is somehow a good thing. The question to at least half the voting population of Poland might as well be “Do you want the glorious leadership of Vladdy Daddy, yes or no?”
It happens. In Taiwan, the “let’s-cave-in-and-appease-China-and-Xi” candidate was leading by over 25% in the polls at one point in the 2020 election. He eventually lost, but yes, other nations can get really Trumpy. Recently in Romania, the pro-Russian candidate was leading and his eventual loss to the pro-EU pro-Western candidate was seen as a surprising upset. And in Hungary, Viktor Orban won 4 straight elections.
But, from my limited skimming of the article, it appears the Putin angle is really only a part of it and it boils down more to the traditional-conservative Poles against the liberal-modernist Poles. If a conservative Pole dislikes abortion, likes Catholicism, and wants traditional family values and opposes LGBT, they may be willing to overlook the conservative candidate’s pro-Putin-ness.
Just to be clear, while Orban is certainly an autocrat who has certain aligned interests with the Putin regime, Orban and Putin are not staunch allies and the cultural animosity between Hungarians and Russians (as well as competing interests) makes any inclination for Hungary to be a subservient client state (again) to Putin’s expansionist fantasies in the way Belarus is a complete non-starter in the same way that a permanent Russia-China alliance would be.
The ‘culture wars’ of domestic politics is certainly a divisive issue around the globe and especially in Eastern Europe which is easily exploited by propaganda, disinformation, and especially manipulation via social media which is something Russia has been doing for the last fifteen years.
Stranger
Look at who we elected twice and try to tell me propaganda doesn’t work.
Oh dear. So, situation more or less it has been since the parliamentary elections.