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Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán at his annual press conference
Photo: Marton Monus / REUTERS
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been critical of recent events in Western democracies at his annual press conference. In the sights of his criticism: the USA, Poland and the handling of the AfD in Germany.
"An evil is gnawing at Western democracies," Orbán told journalists in Budapest. He was referring to a court ruling to exclude former US President Donald Trump from the presidential primaries in the US state of Colorado, the dismissal of the leadership of state media in Poland and the monitoring of the AfD by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Public praise from Orbán and Trump
"We are seeing strange things today, let's say in the Western democratic world," said the right-wing nationalist head of government. "We have to pay attention because there is a great Western democracy in which, if I understand correctly, they want to block a presidential candidate by putting legal obstacles in his way," Orbán said, referring to his ally Trump.
Hungary's prime minister and the former US president have supported each other several times in the past. "I fully support his re-election as Hungarian prime minister," Trump said, commenting on Orbán's 2022 election campaign, praising him as a "strong leader." Orbán recently retaliated on the news platform X (formerly Twitter): "Keep fighting, Mr. President! We've got your back."
Because of his role in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Republican Trump was disqualified for the presidency, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in a sensational decision. That's why he was not allowed to participate in his party's presidential primaries in Colorado.
"I see another country, just as important, where a party with considerable parliamentary representation is under surveillance," he said, in an alleged allusion to the AfD. Several regional associations of the AfD were classified as right-wing extremists after observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
"And I see a third country where control of television has been enforced with police violence," Orbán said. He was responding to a question about the dismissal of all chairmen and board members of state television, radio and the PAP news agency by the new pro-European government in Poland. For years, the Polish state media were seen as mouthpieces for the previous right-wing nationalist government, which was close to Orbán.
Several independent Hungarian media excluded from the press conference
"If all this had happened in Hungary, perhaps NATO troops would have intervened already," Orbán added ironically. There are "double standards". Several independent Hungarian media outlets were excluded from the press conference.
Orbán, who has been in power since 2010, has been at odds with the EU Commission for years on numerous issues, such as migration, the rule of law and LGBTQ rights. In September 2022, the European Parliament denied that Hungary was still a "full-fledged democracy". In addition to rampant corruption, the EU accuses the country of serious deficits in fundamental rights.
eru/AFP