![]() ![]() In reality, of course, it was a mixed system just a bit richer in pluralistic features than average alongside the majoritarian ones. I will here describe both the success of the “handshake” process over the past decade as well as my reasons for concern as I look ahead.ĥThe Hungarian system over the last decade came as close as possible to the Lijphartian ideal of a consensus-seeking, pluralistic democracy. I believe that our transformation has been a success thanks to this enduring self-limitation of the country’s political forces.ĤUnfortunately, however, I feel that this success, and the handshake tradition as a whole, is now endangered. It stemmed from the actual handshake, the contractual democratization of 19, but it was strengthened throughout the decade by its institutionalization. ![]() And I have liked, throughout this decade’s mess and confusion, one consistent quality in our public life: the flavor of a consensus-seeking democracy-the first, by the way, in Hungarian history.ģI call this system of consensus-based democracy the “handshake tradition”. Hungary’s democracy certainly resembles the desired boredom of normalcy I had predicted in my more optimistic moods. 1These days, I am often asked: Does Hungarian democracy resemble the system I imagined ten years ago? And then comes the logical second question: Do I like what it turned out to be?ĢMy answer is a quite resolute, double yes-as far as the ten years up to now are concerned.
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