Hungary’s prime minister suggests left-wingers are treasonous anti-Hungarians

Viktor Orbán warmed up his signature political dish today in the Transylvanian town of Tusnádfürdő (Băile Tușnad), where he gave his annual speech at a right-wing gathering of students, activists, politicians and policy-makers. Mr. Orbán returned to an old theme, and one which very successfully created a toxic environment for Hungarians both in Hungary and in the diaspora who were perceived as being liberal or left-wing, or simply critical of the Hungarian right.

“Left-wingers don’t like Hungarians. Imagine what would have happened if the left had won the elections in 2014,” noted Mr. Orbán, suggesting that because Hungarian liberals have been shown to “embrace” the growing number of refugees and migrants, Hungary under their leadership would have lost its Hungarian character, becoming instead one massive refugee camp. According to an analysis in the liberal Hungarian online paper Index, Mr. Orbán’s decision to use such inflammatory language against Hungarian liberals and left-wingers is ingenious and it serves as a “clever political trap” for the opposition. After being told that they hate all Hungarians and after the prime minister effectively suggested that the entire migrant and refugee crisis is somehow linked to this Hungarian-hating left, Hungarian liberals and socialists will understandably be livid and will spend the rest of the summer giving voice to their outrage, in interviews on ATV and Klubrádió and in a myriad of op-ed pieces. But this time they should not expect much moral support from outside Hungary.

Unlike last year’s speech, where the Hungarian prime minister caused international scandal by speaking glowingly about “illiberal democracies,” this talk will be unlikely to ruffle feathers in western Europe and in North America, even though it qualifies as blatant hate speech against all those in Hungary who gravitate to the left. And, in Hungarian society, it has clear antisemitic undertones.

Years ago in Tusnádfürdő, Mr. Orbán spoke about the left being genetically predisposed to treason, which was a coded reference to the Jews, and the fact that left-wingers aren’t real Hungarians, but are part of a broader Jewish conspiracy. This year, Mr. Orbán left genetics out of the equation, but Hungarians will still understand the reference to the left hating Hungarians perfectly well.

Viktor Orbán in Tusnádfürdő. Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI.

Viktor Orbán in Tusnádfürdő. Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI.

During this year’s speech, Mr. Orbán was flanked by Zsolt Németh on one side, and the Transylvanian protestant minister-turned-politician Lászlő Tőkés on the other. Mr. Németh has been known as one of the more pro-western, pro-European voices within Fidesz and he was not entirely comfortable with the government’s Ostpolitik over the past two years. Mr. Németh had, in a number of instances, such as during EU/US free trade talks and during the Ukrainian crisis, advocated for Hungary to fall into line behind Germany. In Tusnádfürdő it was Mr. Németh who introduced Mr. Orbán before his speech and he made a sarcastic reference to the fact that last year, “the whole world had the chance to learn about Tusnádfürdő,” thanks to Mr. Orbán’s talk on building an illiberal, authoritarian state in the heart of Europe.

Reportedly, Hungary’s diplomatic corps was shaking in its boots in advance of the speech, fearing that they would have to spend the rest of the summer in damage control mode, if the prime minister put on a similar production to last year. Now that Mr. Orbán decided to only go after the Hungarian left-wing opposition and “simply” said that they were treasonous Hungarian-haters who are responsible for the current refugee and migrant crisis, every diplomat worth his or her salt will know that this rhetorical turn will likely be of zero interest to anyone in the West and nobody will call him out on such inflammatory remarks.

If anything, Mr. Orbán’s speech had tinges of anti-Americanism in it, but it was quite pro-German and even pro-European, to an extent. Mr. Orbán expressed dismay over Washington’s decision to spy on German political leaders. He suggested that the EU was being too forgiving towards the US and was too willing to enter into free trade negotiations right after the spying scandal.

Mr. Orbán spoke glowingly for a quick moment about the EU, but then quickly added that the left-wing had the power to do much damage:

“The European Union, in itself, is a great success. It is synonymous with peace, development and well-being. (…) The European left doesn’t see danger, but rather an opportunity in immigration. The escalation of immigration can weaken and, indeed, destroy, the national frameworks in Europe. This would help the left turn into reality one of its historic, long-term goals.”

The Hungarian left will respond predictably to this speech, while the western media will likely be fairly uninterested in this one. Mr. Orbán and his diplomats can happily go on vacation for the next few weeks. And then everything can return to exactly where it was until now, come the fall. The Hungarian opposition will continue licking its wounds, after Mr. Orbán gave them another bone to chew on for a while, but will remain politically lost and unable to rebuild.

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