How Viktor Orban became a role model for the nationalist right

Pseveral hundred men and women in gala attire stand silently in a renovated hall on the banks of the Danube. The day has just dawned on Budapest. Outside, the yellow trams loaded with workers go up the river, students in T-shirts crowd in front of the majestic gate of Corvinus University. In the morning heat, the Danube has lost its blue reflections, it looks oily. Fortunately for the elegant, the hall is air-conditioned. The ladies wear finery, earrings and pearl necklaces; the gentlemen are in suits, most with buttonholes. The rare beards in the audience are well trimmed. Everyone listens, head down, to the blessing of three priests and a rabbi, mounted on a podium. Ecumenical prayer, chréti…