Calling international politics a “battlefield”, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told newspaper Magyar Idők that Hungary’s sovereignty is under constant attack from foreign interests and the powerful left wing activist George Soros. Adding that mass migration threatens the future of Europe, he urged for the preservation of Christian civilisation.
“Today we live in a time when international politics is a battlefield,” Prime Minister Orbán said on Easter Sunday. “The independence and freedom of European nations are at stake. And at the centre of the battlefield is migration.”
“This is what our future stands or falls on,” he said, “the fate of Europe. The question is whether the character of European nations will be determined by the same spirit, civilisation, culture and mentality as in our parents’ and grandparents’ time, or by something completely different.”
Discussing how his government has come under criticism following the implementation of stricter border controls and asylum policies in the ongoing migrant crisis, Mr. Orbán observed that “those calling themselves liberal and left-wing – who are supported with the money, power and networks of international forces, with George Soros at the forefront – claim that taking action against migration is wrong, impractical and immoral”.
Contrasting that with the wishes of the Hungarian people, Orbán said: “…we want to preserve the foundations of Europe. We do not want parallel societies, we do not want population exchanges, and we do not want to replace Christian civilisation with a different kind. Therefore we are building fences, defending ourselves, and not allowing migrants to flood us.”
– ‘National Governance Under Pressure’ –
The Hungarian government, led by Orbán’s Fidesz party, is also coming under attack from the European Union, the U.S. State Department, and nongovernmental organisations for its commitment to implementing legislation on transparency for foreign NGOs and universities operating in the country – issues the prime minister referred to as “secondary battlefields”:
“National governance in Hungary is under continuous pressure and attack … the most important thing at stake is whether we will have a parliament and a government that will seek to serve the best interests of the Hungarian people, or a parliament and a government that will seek to serve foreign interests.”
Affirming that conflicts with external forces was a part of defending a nation’s sovereignty, the conservative Central European leader said: “If we were to accept that Brussels or other political and financial centres should dictate to us, or that Hungarian or American billionaires should tell us how things should be in our country, then we would have no conflicts.”
– George Soros –
The prime minister singled out several times during the interview Hungarian-born billionaire and open borders financier George Soros, whose lobbyists Orbán claims are agitating European, the EU, and the U.S. governments to put pressure on Hungary over its domestic policies.
“George Soros must not be underestimated: he is a powerful billionaire of enormous determination who, when it comes to his interests, respects neither God nor man. We want to protect Hungary, and so we must also commit ourselves to this struggle.”
“[He] is spending endless amounts of money to support illegal immigration. He wants to keep the pressure on Hungary: the country which expects even the likes of George Soros to observe its laws.”
When it comes to personal attacks against him, Orbán, a great admirer of the late British prime minister, quoted Margaret Thatcher:
I always cheer up immensely if one is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.
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