The migrant invasion to Europe from the Middle East and Africa may be part of a left-wing plot to pack the continent with sympathetic voters, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told Swiss magazine die Weltwoche. He also said that the British make better allies because they apply more “common sense” but argued that whether or not we are a Christian nation and continent is rarely discussed by Prime Minister David Cameron and the broader political right in Britain.
Orban, who was the first European leader to erect a strong and almost impenetrable border fence, has previously hit out at pro migrant invasion individuals and ideologues including Hungarian-American businessman George Soros, whose Open Society Foundations provide funding to almost every pro-migration activist and talking head in the English-speaking world.
Now, Mr. Orban has ramped up his rhetoric, insisting that there is a “master plan” by left-wing activists on both sides of the Atlantic, specifically pointing to “radical American Democrats” for their involvement, and the fact that Western, Judeo-Christian culture is being ignored in the whole debate.
“Nobody has raised the question whether this is about our very existence, our cultural identity, our way of life.
“I do not know with certainty what is really happening, and I don’t want to accuse anyone, but the suspicion is that all this is no accident. I’m not brave enough to speak in public with confidence about it. But one can not help to imagine that behind it a kind of master plan.
He was asked who was behind the “master plan”, to which he replied: “My personal impression is that the elite of Europe, when it comes to questions of a spiritual nature, debate only shallow and secondary topics.
“That’s the most difficult question. For this purpose, we need to identify some left wing political writing that has been published in recent years and addressed the future of the European Union and a potential European superstate.
“I read these articles and essays, and it occurs to me that some authors called for a diminishing role of the nation state… The European Left and radical American Democrats have concocted a theory for this new world.
He said the elite, or ruling classes are only concerned with “[c]ute things like human rights, progress, peace, openness, tolerance… We are not talking about freedom, we are not talking about Christianity, we do not talk about the nation and we are not talking about the pride.”
“They see migration as an opportunity. The left-wing European intelligentsia was theoretically prepared. Now we are dealing with simplicity and power politics: All evidence and experience suggest that the overwhelming majority of these migrants will choose the political left once they are naturalised. So there are future voters left imported into Europe.
His comments are backed up, at least with Britain’s experience with mass migration, with the fact that more immigrants than not vote for the Labour Party, or other left wing parties.
And he spoke of how anti-mass migration voices are ignored and belittled.
“The culture of debate, free exchange of views, of free speech is no longer necessarily part of the debate among us political leaders. Unfortunately, it is more and more rare in the public arena – that is in the media, in public opinion. Perhaps this is an effect of the migrant crisis: A free and honest exchange of views is becoming a smaller part of the culture of the European political elite. Everything is regulated, disciplined, and the orientation of each top politician corresponds to his political camp.
“The left side is in this respect in Europe is much more skilful than the [right]… Due to political correctness, the EU has turned into a kind of royal court, where everyone has to behave properly, this migration is an urgent challenge for us.
And the issue of voter apathy, or how European voters feel downtrodden by the quality of their leaders, arose:
“The European citizen is convinced that its leaders are not effective. But the migration crisis has produced a new impression. It has nothing to do with efficiency, but with democracy. Now it comes to the question: Who the hell decided that policy? Because when it comes to existential questions such as our identity or to protect against terrorists, you must discuss it with the citizens, and we should discuss it with them.”
Asked about his solutions, he responded: “If the Greeks comply with the Schengen rules, we would have no problem. If the Greeks can not, we have to get them to do that.”
Mr. Orban’s government very recently announced that it would be sending a 300-strong border patrol force to Greece, presumably because he believes the Greeks will not abide by their obligations to secure Europe’s borders.
He added, when asked if Greece should close its borders: “Yes, but the problem is that the Greeks do not want to do. For me it’s a great mystery why we accept this behaviour of the Greeks. Why do we not tell them: ‘Watch out, you are an EU member. We have helped you in your crisis, perhaps it wasn’t perfect, but we had the best intentions. You have a clear obligation, as far as you can. You have signed a contract called Schengen. Please do your job!'”
And Mr. Orban was asked if he’s the only European politician that is willing to speak the way he does about the crisis, and why. He replied:
“I know several European leaders, the privately share my views. But they have speak differently in public… It’s not a lack of courage, not hypocrisy, and not intellectual weakness. It is simply because that Europe is dominated by the left. When debating values, you need strong backing. Not many politicians have the strong voter support as I do.”
And he repeated that the left dominates institutions across Europe: “…viewed from an intellectual point of view, the political right is still not as competitive as the left. We aren’t represented in the media, not strongly represented in the think tanks, universities and schools, i.e. where future generations are educated. This battle has been lost from our parents.”
During the interview, Mr. Orban said the British have more “common sense” than others on the issue of immigration. But he reflected on the fact that British political leaders, especially those in the conservative movement, “do not discuss whether we are Christian or not…”
He said he suspected German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hands were tied by her governing coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats.
European Union countries are deeply split over how to respond to the sudden and massive influx.
Slovenia began erecting a razor wire fence along parts of its border with Croatia on Wednesday, and Sweden ostensibly closed its borders on Thursday, November 13th.
Orban has said Hungary does not want Muslims in large numbers, and that migrants are coming to Europe not to flee danger but rather because they want “a German or perhaps a Swedish life”.
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Additional reporting by Michael Shields; editing by Kevin Liffey, of the Reuters news agency