Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga confronted European Union officials over Hungary’s Wuhan coronavirus response, saying the globalist campaign against the country had no basis.
Minister Varga spoke at a meeting of European Union ministers by teleconference on Tuesday, stating that Hungary should expect an apology from critics who had argued Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had become a “dictator”.
Prime Minister Orbán had relinquished his emergency powers earlier this week, handing the parliament back its authority.
“It wasn’t the first time that we have fell victim to a campaign that had no basis whatsoever. But fortunately, in this case, the misleading and false information spread about us has obviously been proven wrong,” Minister Varga said.
She added that in an “ideal world” Hungary would be on the receiving end of apologies from critics, but given the silence so far she invoked British singer Elton John, saying: “Sorry seems to be the hardest word.”
Prime Minister Orbán faced a wave of criticism by the establishment media and various liberal and left-wing politicians, including former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice who demanded the country be kicked out of the European Union.
Despite the criticism, Hungary was bolstered by a European Commission report which said the country had not violated any laws and there was no legal basis for a case against the government.
“But, but …all the media have told us for WEEKS that Hungary is basically a dictatorship… all this is VERY confusing…” Hungarian ambassador to the Vatican Eduard Habsburg said following the Commission report.
While the measures may not have been popular with liberal elites, a poll released this week revealed that the vast majority (78 per cent) of Hungarians did approve of the steps, with only nine per cent of respondents saying the government’s actions had been too excessive.