Populism vs authoritarianism? : plaidoyer against illiberal or authoritarian constitutionalism

Published online: 24 March 2022In an infamous speech delivered on July 26, 2014, the populist and autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orbán proclaimed his intention to turn Hungary into a state that ‘will undertake the odium of expressing that in character it is not of liberal nature’. Citing as models he added: In a conversation with the French philosopher, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Orbán identified liberalism with totalitarianism, and illiberalism with true democracy:In a speech, delivered in mid-September 2019 at the 12th congress of the Association of Christian Intelligentsia, he said that ‘Christian liberty’ is superior to individual liberty – defined by John Stuart Mill in his On Liberty – which can only be infringed upon if the exercise of one’s liberty harms others. Christian liberty, by contrast, holds that we ought to treat others as we want to be treated.3 ‘The teachings of ‘Christian liberty’ – he added – ‘maintain that the world is divided into nations.’ As opposed to liberal liberty, which is based on individual accomplishments, the followers of ‘Christian liberty’ acknowledge only those accomplishments that also serve the common good. While liberals are convinced that liberal democracies will eventually join together to form a world government à la Immanuel Kant in the name of liberal internationalism, Christian liberty by contrast considers ‘nations to be as free and sovereign as individuals are, and therefore they cannot be forced under the laws of global governance’