“Either everything will change for the better, or we’ll be fired”— how those in Fidesz’s hinterland feel about the election

Gábor has worked in various positions in Fidesz’s hinterland for more than a decade; he currently works at a research institute. He expected a close result in the election and followed the results as they came in that night at the election watch party of a Fidesz-affiliated organization.

“The mood was one of shock. I saw a bunch of people shaking their heads,” he said of that evening. The next day, when he went to work—where his closest colleagues are all Fidesz supporters—he had a similar experience. “Everyone was shocked, stunned by the result. Everyone was worried before the election, but no one expected this,” he said.

According to him, the message they received "from above" was constantly that they shouldn't worry about the election, that "the numbers are looking good." He said that several Fidesz candidates in Budapest who ended up losing by a wide margin had also entered the election with confidence. “Although I sort of understand the reasons, I do feel deceived. Duping people like this is not right,” he said, referring to the polls coming from within Fidesz’s inner circle.

A mid-level official at a ministry also confirmed the narrative that Fidesz’s top leadership was aware of the outlook, but this information was kept within a small circle. Even at the ministry’s upper echelons, they saw that many people believed the polls showing a significant Fidesz lead, which means that “the party had deceived them.” One of our contact's superiors “became completely depressed” after the results because they sincerely believed in Fidesz's victory.

In recent days we spoke with eight people who, like Gábor, work in the government's supporting apparatus—in ministries, background institutions, or state-owned companies. Some were disappointed, just like Gábor, but the majority felt relieved and are hopeful that the Tisza administration will bring a freer atmosphere and provide state institutions with more room to maneuver.

Grieving in black

Ágnes is one of them. She has been working for ten years in management in an area of public service that has been increasingly pushed out of the Orbán regime’s focus. “On Monday after the election, everyone was jubilant; we were extremely relieved” she said. Her area of expertise has been so neglected by politics that in recent years that nearly all of her colleagues have had to take on second jobs due to their wages having been eroded by inflation. At he end of March, however, they unexpectedly received a significant pay raise.

Not only was this a welcome development for financial reasons, but also because they interpreted it as a sign that the ruling party must be in trouble. “Although they’d been hinting at this for a long time, it was strange that the decision was made so quickly,” she said.

Ágnes said she is in weekly contact with roughly fifty colleagues, and she couldn’t name a single one who wasn’t happy about the change in government. “Everyone was waiting for this day. For many, this was about whether they would quit or not. The final month leading up to the election was brutal, but the doomsday atmosphere has now finally lifted,” she said.

Several people reported that the election results had emboldened many. An employee at a large state-owned company said that before the election, people tended to keep a low profile; everyone was very cautious about who they shared their opinions with. After the results, however, many have become much more open about their views, and “there was a sense of relief and joy among colleagues that Fidesz had finally been defeated.”

At the same time, this kind of openness isn’t typical of every institution. An employee at one of the ministries said that on the Monday right after the election, some people came to work dressed in black as a sign of mourning, but the vast majority kept their feelings to themselves. “Everyone is smart enough not to show their feelings, because we know there are those who aren’t happy, and we don’t want conflict. But in smaller groups, we have been able to celebrate discreetly,” they said.

Scrambling at NER-affiliated companies

Anxiety hasn’t necessarily subsided only among employees critical of the government. A Fidesz cadre said he was very anxious before the election because he “read too much,” but since then, despite the defeat, he has felt a sense of relief. “It’s now certain that I need to make changes in my life, and that’s what I’m going to do. And I feel better knowing that my fate is now in my own hands,” they said.

“We’re all updating our résumés, but nobody knows anything,” they said, summing up the mood. A mid-level manager at a ministry said they have identified two types of behavior among their colleagues: either they are despondent and are passively waiting to see what will happen to them, or they are “scrambling to find work in the hinterland or at a NER-affiliated company.”

A Fidesz-supporter employee of a background institution had previously said that they would leave their job if Tisza won, but now they seemed less certain. They had heard from various sources that several former state administration leaders who were once close to Fidesz—but who eventually clashed with the Orbán regime—were now coming back. There may be some among them with whom the Fidesz-supporting civil servant we interviewed would enjoy working, including in other areas of civil service.

Others also believe that the return of former staff could provide substantial help in addressing the shortage of Tisza-linked personnel. Dávid Vitézy, the incoming Minister of Transport and Investment also commented on this phenomenon, noting that 90 percent of the best railway development experts left MÁV in the season behind, and he now hopes to lure them back. “Under Fidesz, many people were laid off here for political reasons. Now we’re speculating about the possibility of working together again; we’re waiting for them to come back—it would be like a dream if they returned,” said a ministry employee. About a third of their staff left this way; they were well-respected professionals, are greatly missed, and would gladly return.

While most of those interviewed are happy with the election results, the sense of uncertainty present during the campaign has not subsided. “In my circle, people are partly afraid and partly optimistic. Either everything will be much better, or we’ll get fired,” an employee of a state-owned company said, describing the paradoxical situation that many Tisza voters working in Fidesz’s hinterland may feel.

Fear trickles down

Given the expected widespread changes in leadership, it goes without saying that a new boss could decide to replace staff at any time; however, no one expects mass or systematic layoffs below the middle management level. Péter Magyar said that deputy state secretaries are likely to remain in their positions if they are professionally qualified.

According to an employee of a state-owned company, there is still no fear at the lower levels, “but the fear has trickled down a bit further than before”. In his view, even middle managers who had been in favour of political change and were not worried about their future prior to the election are now walking around the building with more sombre expressions.

Employees at several state-owned companies also said that management—or even department heads—are “scared shitless”. The civil service is by no means immune to the kind of people who, in the wake of the election, have suddenly begun to view the past in a fundamentally different light. According to an employee at one state-owned company, for example, a member of the management there has recently started saying that he shouldn’t be fired because he is “a professional” and “performs his job competently”, but at the same time, everyone in the organization thinks he’s been parachuted in and lives in a completely alternate reality.

A ministry employee also reported that many people who were previously known to be “die-hard Fidesz supporters” are now trying to switch sides. On the other hand, we were also told about a government official who, in a private conversation after the election, admitted to having been in contact with the Tisza Party.

The sense of uncertainty is increased by the fact that all respondents unanimously reported that no substantive information about the future had been shared with them; everyone is waiting to see what happens, even at the highest levels of their institutions. Based on reports from Tisza Party politicians, leaders of major state institutions are in the process of holding consultations with senior politicians of the Tisza Party.

Despite the existential uncertainty, most of those we spoke with felt that their colleagues are optimistic about the future—if they will be able to stay—and hope that the atmosphere will become freer, and would no longer be so instruction-based as it has been. “Up until now, rather than figuring out how to make things better, we’ve just been following orders. Now we’re hoping for a more transparent, logical environment,” one respondent said.

To illustrate just how restricted many people’s professional work had been, a respondent involved in strategic planning explained that, for gathering information or professional consultations, they were allowed to meet exclusively with representatives of Fidesz, and not with members of the opposition. Similarly, it also posed a risk if, for example, they attempted to establish professional relationships with institutions that did not align with Fidesz's ideology. Thus, they too are now hopeful that in the future they will have greater freedom, allowing them to better fulfill their professional potential.