Orbán Declares Hungary an 'Illiberal State' at Băile Tușnad

Speaking at the Bálványos Summer School at Băile Tușnad (Tusnádfürdő) in Romania on July 26, 2014, Viktor Orbán explicitly proclaimed that Hungary was building an 'illiberal state, a non-liberal state' that rejected Western liberal democracy. He cited Russia, China, Singapore, and Turkey as successful models operating outside liberal norms. The speech crystallized international alarm about Hungary's democratic trajectory and became one of the most widely cited political addresses in post-communist European history. Fidesz supporters said it reflected honest sovereign conservatism.