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Noalternativetoliberaldemocracy?,SamuelAbrahám
Opinion&Analysis
13
TisseemstobethekeyfactorinCentralandEasternEurope,whereamyriad
ofnationalists,chauvinist,racists,religiousfanaticsandpopulistsareabletoex-
ploitfearandinsecurityfortheirownpoliticalgains.Teoftencorruptestablished
partiesaredivided,muteandalooftotheconcernsofthepeople.Atpresent,there
seemstobenoviablepoliticalalternativepromotingliberaldemocraticvalues.
However,thereisnoreasontobelievethatthiswillbethenorminthefuture.In
thepastwewitnessedavarietyofilliberalpoliticiansbeingdefeated.
Indeed,despitethecurrentcrisiswithintheEUandtheriseofilliberaldemoc-
raciesinCentralEurope,liberaldemocracyseemstobetheonlypoliticalsystem
thathasthepowerandcapacitytoovercometheobstaclesthatcouldendanger
itsexistence.Inthepastitprovedtobeflexible,powerfulandsuccessfulagainst
externalideologicalenemies.Besides,ifcivilsocietycouldoperateduringanop-
pressivecommunistperiod,itcanconsolidateinthefuturetoo,particularlyasanti-
liberalsofthepastwillconfirm,andwhatAnneApplebaumhasrecentlystated,
thatpopulistsandnationalistscanwinelections,butalwaysfailtodeliverwhile
ingovernment.Teycannotfulfilwhattheypromised(asitislargelyunrealistic)
norcantheyrunsoundfiscalpoliciesandafunctional,sustainablegovernment.
DespiterecentpoliticalsetbacksinHungaryandPoland,andtheunstableand
uncertainsituationinSlovakia,RomaniaandevenCzechRepublic,thereisnoreason
todespair.Liberaldemocraciesaremoreresilientthantheyappearatthismoment.
Amajorityofthepopulationinthisregionpreferswhatliberaldemocracyhasto
ofer:prosperity,freedomoftravelandindividualhumanrights.Indeed,ifthese
countrieshadreasonablealternatives–politicianswhosupportindividualrights,
upholdtheruleoflawandfightcorruptionandnepotism–thenalotmorepeople
wouldvoteforcandidateswhogenuinelysupportliberaldemocraticvalues.Hope-
fully,thosepoliticiansre-emergesoonandofervotersviablepoliticalalternatives.
Itisonlythenthatwecanimaginetheemergenceofsomekindofpoliticalprogress.
Nevertheless,ifliberaldemocraciesarenotabletohandlefuturethreats,no
otherpoliticalsystemwillbecapableofdoingsoeither.Letusnotunderestimate
themajorityofcitizensintheregion.TepeoplewhoelectedIvetaRadičová,
FerencGyurcsany,AleksanderKwaśniewski,DonaldTusk,KlausIohannisorBo-
huslavSobotkacouldelecttheirkindredspiritsinthefuture.Itmighttakeafew
moreyears(perhapsanotherelectoralperiod),butsoonerorlaterthemajorityof
CentralEuropeanswillfindoutforthemselveswhatkindofgovernmentbenefits
themthemost.ForthemalsovalidisthemottoofAbrahamLincolnthatpeople
cannotbefooledallthetime.
SamuelAbrahámistherectoroftheBratislavaInternationalSchoolofLiberal
Arts(BISLA)andthepublisherandeditorofthejournalKritika&Kontext.
