Far-right media personalities associated with Fidesz, including a founding member of the governing party, Zsolt Bayer, have plans to celebrate President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday night in Budapest’s Szabadság tér, or Freedom Square in English. The outdoor public event will be held in the area between the Ronald Reagan statue and the Soviet monument–the latter was once much-maligned on the Hungarian right, before it discovered its affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The event is organized by the so-called Flame of 1956 Foundation (‘56Lángja Alapítvány), and the event itself is exuberantly entitled: “The Inauguration Party for a Better World Order.”
Speakers include not only the viruently racist columnist Zsolt Bayer, but also András Bencsik, the editor-in-chief of the far-right Demokrata weekly magazine. László Bogár and László Gy. Tóth, both media personalities known for floating conspiracy theories about how a liberal international conspiracy, funded by big money, aims to destroy nations and “national values,” will make an appearance. It was Mr. Bogár who in 2015 claimed that the United States was deliberately using the refugee and migrant crisis as a “weapon” aimed at weakening Europe. Mr. Bognár is a staunch advocate of European cooperation with Russia and China, in order to keep the United States at bay.
According to the inauguration party’s organizers, Mr. Trump is a type of saviour who arrived in the 11th hour, to redeem the world:
“We have waited for decades for a miracle that would save our world from running head-first into destruction. We can only hope that this miracle is now being born.”
While the Flame of 1956 Foundation is the primary organizer of the event, there is an American connection. Ákos Szilágyi, the producer of the Hungarian television broadcast in New York, is listed as the event’s contact on Facebook.
“We are glad to witness that the global media was unable to brainwash people. Core human values finally seem to replace the artificially fabricated fake ones. A transformation may begin in the United States, and it may cleanse the air for the entire world and for our home, Europe as well. We are gathering on January 20th to welcome this potential turning point in history,” reads the invitation.
The event promises to be a veritable who’s who of the Fidesz far-right.