Viktor Orbán accurately be described as a populist? Why or why not?

ORBAN’S POPULISM
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Orban’s Populism
Western democracies are at a point where populism is becoming common, ranging from Britain’s Brexit to France’s Marine le Pen. The idea behind the populism concept is based on the rule of people as a unified front with absolute sovereignty. Many leaders have been termed as populists, some purely due to their criticism towards the elites and others because of more pronounced attributes that qualify them as populists. As noted by Muller being a critic of the elite is not a sufficient qualification of populists. Thus, it is imperative to address other aspects before categorizing a political leader as a populist. Populism has been viewed as a threat to democracy. In fact, indicate that centralized states that have been left unchecked are the greatest threat to civil liberties and the rise of populism is affecting the power balance in states.[Jan-Werner Muller, “Introduction: Is Everyone a Populist?" In What is Populism? (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), 1.] [Farreed Zakaria, The Rise of Illiberal Democracy. November 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/20051015040527/http:/fareedzakaria.com/articles/other/democracy.html (accessed March 8, 2019)]
This paper examines Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban through one of his speeches that focuses on political aspects such as nationalism, illiberalism, and populism. In particular, this paper posits that Orban is a populist. This argument is based on several premises as deduced from the speech. First, Orban undermines rather than eliminates democracy. Second, Orban believes that he is a true representative of the ordinary, majority people. Third, Orban demonizes his competitors and those opposed to his ideologies, as revealed in his speech. Fourth, he successfully divides Hungarians into two groups, the few strong with power and the weak people who get crushed by the powerful. Finally, Orban reveals his intolerance towards existing systems while trying to pass over the intolerance to his followers. These premises also provide the conclusion that Orban possesses several attributes, other than his critic of the elite, which confirm that he is a populist.
A populist works at undermining rather than removing democracy within the state. As noted by Muller, populism is more of an outline of democracy, in which case, democracy still exists but in a more subtle form. In his speech, Orban states that Hungary is ready to move from the era of liberal democracy in order to attain national success at a global level, but also points out that respect for human rights will be maintained. It is quite interesting that he states that Hungary will be a non-liberal democracy, which ultimately poses a danger to liberal democracy because it has a limiting aspect of freedom rights. However, that is part of being a populist; undermining democracy by eliminating some aspect of it instead of the whole democratic system. In a way of supporting his view on illiberalism, Orban points out to the hypocrisy of some political leaders who are in support of liberal democracy, yet their values do not reflect liberalism. For instance, he indicates that liberal values that have been adopted in modern America comprises of vices such as sex and violence, yet America is on the forefront in the support of human rights protection. Such observations, on his part, are some of the reason why liberalism is not working. He is careful not to appear as though he wants to eliminate democracy completely, hence the use of examples from some of the powerful democracies in the world.[Jan-Werner Muller, "Chapter One: What Populists Say." In What is Populism?, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), 3.] [Website of the Hungarian Government. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Speech at the 25th Balvanyos Summer Free University and Student Camp. July 30, 2014. /en/the-prime-minister/the-prime-minister-s-speeches/prime-minister-viktor-orban-s-speech-at-the-25th-balvanyos-summer-free-university-and-student-camp (accessed March 8, 2019).] [Farreed Zakaria, The Rise of Illiberal Democracy. November 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/20051015040527/http:/fareedzakaria.com/articles/other/democracy.html (accessed March 8, 2019).] [Website of the Hungarian Government. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Speech at the 25th Balvanyos Summer Free University and Student Camp. July 30, 2014. /en/the-prime-minister/the-prime-minister-s-speeches/prime-minister-viktor-orban-s-speech-at-the-25th-balvanyos-summer-free-university-and-student-camp (accessed March 8, 2019).]
Further, a populist often paints his opposition as illegitimate while at the same time presenting themselves as a true representative of the people. While trying to inform his people about the importance of national success in a world that is obsessed with global competition due to the nature of the international economy, Orban implies that he is part of the majority by stating that “But according to many, and I belong to that group…” In essence, he is trying to show that he is part of the people and as such, anyone outside of his views on certain issues does not represent the people. According to Zakaria, this mentality has in the past threatened the limitation of power because populist leaders often claim that they represent the people and cannot, therefore, abuse their power. This is what Muller refers to as “anti-pluralist”, which is a major characteristic of populists. Anti-pluralism is based on the premise that diverse views cannot exist and be embraced by a group of people and Orban certainly understands this premise. For instance, in his disregard for those of the view against re-admittance of cross-border Hungarians, he clearly illustrates that their view was illegitimate because it did not fit his view on the issue, referring to it as “evil”. On a celebratory note, he posits that those against re-admittance were “rewarded” with what they deserved; losing the election to him. He is actually convincing Hungarians that he was right all along, and his victory is evidence enough that all those other views were wrong and illegitimate. In addition, he points out that there is a new race that is meant to make Hungary a successful nation. In a way, his view can be termed as similar to Nietzsche who believed that a tragedy would bring rebirth to the human race. The change that Orban refers to that will bring rise to a new Hungary that enjoys national success is quite similar to the nationalism that Nietzsche was against as part of modern politics. As pointed out by Muller, populists are good at undermining the legitimacy of their opponents and enhancing political polarization, which Orban has successfully done in his speech.[Website of the Hungarian Government. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Speech at the 25th Balvanyos Summer Free University and Student Camp. July 30, 2014. /en/the-prime-minister/the-prime-minister-s-speeches/prime-minister-viktor-orban-s-speech-at-the-25th-balvanyos-summer-free-university-and-student-camp (accessed March 8, 2019).] [Farreed Zakaria, The Rise of Illiberal Democracy. November 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/20051015040527/http:/fareedzakaria.com/articles/other/democracy.html (accessed March 8, 2019).] [Jan-Werner Muller, “Introduction: Is Everyone a Populist?" In What is Populism? (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), 2.] [Website of the Hungarian Government. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Speech at the 25th Balvanyos Summer Free University and Student Camp. July 30, 2014. /en/the-prime-minister/the-prime-minister-s-speeches/prime-minister-viktor-orban-s-speech-at-the-25th-balvanyos-summer-fre...