this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2026
1320 points (99.3% liked)

Uplifting News

18725 readers
430 users here now

Welcome to /c/UpliftingNews (rules), a dedicated space where optimism and positivity converge to bring you the most heartening and inspiring stories from around the world. We strive to curate and share content that lights up your day, invigorates your spirit, and inspires you to spread positivity in your own way. This is a sanctuary for those seeking a break from the incessant negativity and rage (e.g. schadenfreude) often found in today's news cycle. From acts of everyday kindness to large-scale philanthropic efforts, from individual achievements to community triumphs, we bring you news—in text form or otherwise—that gives hope, fosters empathy, and strengthens the belief in humanity's capacity for good, from a quality outlet that does not publish bad copies of copies of copies.

Here in /c/UpliftingNews, we uphold the values of respect, empathy, and inclusivity, fostering a supportive and vibrant community. We encourage you to share your positive news, comment, engage in uplifting conversations, and find solace in the goodness that exists around us. We are more than a news-sharing platform; we are a community built on the power of positivity and the collective desire for a more hopeful world. Remember, your small acts of kindness can be someone else's big ray of hope. Be part of the positivity revolution; share, uplift, inspire!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

The Hungarian prime minister concedes to Péter Magyar, who is set to win a supermajority in the 199-seat parliament.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 73 points 4 days ago (6 children)

Been thinking a lot about the, "you can't vote your way out if this," doomer leftists today.

[–] Jhex@lemmy.world 20 points 4 days ago (4 children)

another far right candidate won… coming from the same party originally

Hungary went from lime to lemon… don't get me wrong, this is a tiny hint forward but by no means is Hungary "out"

[–] kopasz7@sh.itjust.works 23 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Right wing? It is smack in the center.

The tisza party has published their policy plans. (full version pdf: https://magyartisza.hu/program)

Here are the left-wing ones:

Economic Justice and Redistribution

Reduce minimum wage tax from 15% to 9%.
Lower income tax for workers earning below the median wage.
Tax the super-rich with a 1% annual wealth tax on assets over 1 billion HUF.
Cut VAT on firewood, healthy food, and prescription medicines.

Expanded Social Safety Net

Double family allowances, maternity support, and childcare benefits.
Guarantee a minimum pension of 120,000 HUF per month.
Provide "Pensioner SZÉP Cards" with up to 200,000 HUF in annual support.
Increase home care fees by 50% for family caregivers.
Give a "Newborn Kit" worth 50,000 HUF to every baby.

Labor and Public Sector Support

Increase pay by 25% for social sector and educational assistants.
Strengthen union rights and rebuild national social dialogue.
Enforce equal pay for equal work between men and women.

Public Goods and Equality

Establish independent ministries for Healthcare and Education.
Maintain tuition-free first university degrees.
Build social rental housing and more student dormitories.
End period poverty by providing free hygiene products in state schools.
Fund Roma integration through school buses and new scholarships.

State-Led Public Services

Nationalize debt enforcement and make it non-profit.
Take over company liquidations to ensure a non-profit, transparent process
[–] logi@lemmy.world 32 points 4 days ago

He's mostly been described as centre right, but we'll see. If he's not beholden to Russia and not massively corrupt, then that's a huge step. If they then undo the damage done by Orbán to the constitution and institutions of Hungary, then there will be a way forward.

[–] lostbit@feddit.nl 11 points 4 days ago

right wing has a lot if colors. He’s far from a republican right wing extremist

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

True, and I don't mean to imply that Hungary will magically be transformed into a thriving democracy as soon as Orbàn is out. It's gonna take years to rebuild the judiciary alone, and we'll see how committed Maygar is to restoring inconvenient aspects of democracy like press freedom and fair elections. Still, Hungary took the first step towards reestablishing democracy by voting, and I'm getting tired of hearing how voting doesn't work from people who's only political activities are sharing the, "You're Finished," meme and telling people to read theory.

[–] Jhex@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I agree with you even if I have been a doom and gloom person as of late.

I agree that voting is important even if rigged... writing to your representatives is important even if they wipe their asses with your letters... we all must continue to enact the "normal" strategies while also considering extraordinary ones!

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

Agreed. Until there is an open Civil War, voting will be important, as well as protests and general strikes.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 15 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Soap box, ballot box, ammo box.

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Agreed, but I see a lot of supposed leftists that seem like they just want to do the first one.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

You know there isn't an entrance exam right? There is plenty of people that want to charge the Bastille, just because they claim to be on the left doesn't mean that they speak for the majority, or even the minority, it's often just their view.

But it does become very irritating when even the left wing options seems to be quite right wing. I can totally see why people become disenfranchised. I don't think there's ever a point in not voting, it can never hurt, but it also might not help if that's all your prepared to do.

Even the Pope says that it is not enough to simply say you have prayed, you also have to act.
Which is probably the first and last time I'll ever agree with anything the Pope says.

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Yeah, don't mistake my criticism of armchair leftists for all leftists. I certainly fall pretty far on the communist/socialist spectrum compared to what passes for the American left. But at this point, I have more respect for normie liberals who are just getting radicalized enough to take action, even if the action is just supporting a more progressive primary candidate, over online leftists who just mock them and argue theory.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 4 days ago (2 children)

thing is, you're comparing to america. America can't vote their way out of their situation because the whole system is set up to prevent it, it would take decades of dedicated work to undo the conditioning of the populace and start making it even remotely feasible for an actual good candidate to be elected.

Now, that's not to say that america can't vote their way out of things on a local level, that's actually one of the best bets available to them, but still even then Zohran's victory in NYC (which by all accounts was kind of revolutionary) was only with him getting 50% of votes. The democrats did everything they could to keep a notorious sexual harasser in power instead.

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Well, first of all, no I'm not just talking about America. There are tons of leftists on here who argue that voting is hopeless any time an authoritarian rises to power, and seem to believe the only solution is a violent revolution that they are not planning (not that I'm trying to bait anyone or fed-posting, but I doubt the people spending 16 hours a day debating Neo-Marxism versus Anarchist Communism are also forming a militia).

Second of all, you're saying that the American system is set up to prevent voting out fascism, but what you're describing is learned helplessness, not institutional restrictions. Learned helplessness is powerful, but I'm rapidly seeing it being unlearned since Trump took office. Republicans who've been ignoring economic issues for identity politics suddenly seem sick of hearing about wokeness. Liberal wine moms who held up, "But her emails," signs in 2017 want Chuck Schumer's blood. The other day I saw the fucking Mueller She Wrote account slamming Dick Durbin for saying, "reform," ICE instead, "abolish."

In terms of the institutions, there are a lot of measures against direct democracy that make reforms more difficult, but the structure of our elections have huge advantages. The constitution gives power of our federal elections squarely with the states, which is why Trump is having so much trouble rigging the elections. His current plan seems to be, "send ICE to intimidate voters," and based on Minneapolis, that's not an effective strategy.

Even the bigger obstacles are mostly imaginary. Congressional gridlock can easily be overcome by leadership willing to abolish the filibuster. Supreme Court members can be impeached, and the Court can be expanded by Congress. There are institutional, Democratic solutions to this, we just have to stop pretending they're too difficult.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Orban absolutely rigged the system against voting out of their situation. And they're not there yet, either. This vote was the first step, but they've overcome a huge hurdle.

[–] Aatube@piefed.social 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

anti-electoralism is fully compatible with harm reduction, meaning it's not that you shouldn't vote but you shouldn't rely on it, shouldn't think it's the only way forward, shouldn't stop you from mutual aid and organizing instead of campaigning for some person

there are anti-electoralists plenty who don't believe in harm reduction though, of course, and I agree with you on that

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I agree that you shouldn't rely on elections alone, and mutual aid/community organizing are a huge part of any resistance to authoritarianism. I'm mostly criticizing leftists who claim (or at least imply) that violence is the only possible resistance to a authoritarians.

I really believe that we are capable of turning back the tide of authoritarianism through the levers of democracy. When South Korean politicians scaled the fence around Parliament to vote down martial law, I fully expected the President and military to ignore them, but it worked for them, and it could work for us. If we continue to excise weak-willed centrists from the Democratic party and show Republicans that authoritarian rule will not be tolerated (as the people of Minnesota did), I really believe we can dismantle American fascism with our current institutions. (Dismantling the oligarchy and strengthening those institutions will be a longer, harder battle, but I think clearing out the current fascist regime is well within our immediate grasp.)

[–] Ibuthyr@lemmy.wtf 1 points 3 days ago

He was in power for 16 consecutive years before voting finally changed shit.