About the Event

In all the Visegrád states, the 1990s were marked by the consequences of market-liberal “shock therapy,” intended to rapidly transform socialist planned economies into free-market economies. Although the pace and radicalism of these reforms varied, they brought major social upheaval and unemployment across all four countries. Economic conditions improved following EU accession, thanks to access to the single market and investment by Western European companies, which largely used the V4 as low-cost manufacturing bases. Economic growth increased incomes, while social benefits and pensions remained low for a long time.

Populist forces often responded to these “neoliberal” conditions with state intervention and redistributive measures, contributing significantly to their success. Today, economic policy reveals striking differences between liberal, conservative and populist governments. Yet these differences receive relatively little attention, as conflicts over social and cultural issues dominate media coverage.

How do economic success and crises affect the electoral fortunes of liberal and populist parties in each country? How do populist governments influence international companies’ decisions to establish operations there? Which economic policies endure despite alternating liberal and populist governments?

We will discuss these questions at the next event in our series: Liberalism – Conservatism – Populism in East-Central Europe: Political Divides and Changing Political Culture in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Czechia.

Speakers

• Michael Zürn, SCRIPTS
• Sebastian Płóciennik, Stiftung deutsch-polnische Zusammenarbeit
• Maria Skóra, Institut für Europäische Politik
• Moderator: Stephan Stach, Zentrum Liberale Moderne

About the Series

Liberalism – Conservatism – Populism in East-Central Europe
Political Divides and Changing Political Culture in the Visegrád States: Poland, Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary

The political positioning of the Visegrád states (V4) and their societies between liberalism, conservatism and authoritarian populism is difficult to pin down. For years, political majorities have shifted between these positions, often by narrow margins. In Poland, the liberal Civic Platform defeated the national-conservative PiS in 2023. In the 2025 presidential election, however, the PiS candidate won. In Slovakia, left-wing nationalist Robert Fico returned to power in 2023 after five years out of office. Czechia’s populist ANO party lost to a liberal-conservative alliance in 2021, only to triumph again in 2025. Only in Hungary did Viktor Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” appear stable for a long time—until Péter Magyar ousted him in April after 16 years in office.

These swings were long regarded as a distinctive feature of post-communist states. Similar processes are now evident in many parts of Europe. Did these countries simply foreshadow developments now seen as widespread symptoms of a crisis of liberal democracy?

This event series aims to offer a nuanced picture of social and political developments in the region and explore the causes of these political swings. How much do regional particularities matter? Which developments reflect broader European trends? We will examine socioeconomic factors and historical experiences, as well as the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.