Hungary started an unprecedented campaign in the United States to bring Orbán’s xenophobic, homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic message to US audiences. His government is isolated in the US due to Orbán’s pro-Putin and pro-China stand. No active American politician (republican or democrat) would support him publicly.
Budapest now relies on a small, “fringe” group of conservative individuals and organizations to deliver the message.
On Friday, October 29 a book event took place at Gowan Hall Auditorium, The Catholic University of America, Washington DC.
Mr. Balázs Orbán introduced his book entitled The Hungarian Way Of Strategy. The recently-translated book is a collection of “historical, political, and philosophical analysis” and presents “a glimpse into the strategy that lies behind the policies of the current Hungarian government, and offers some thoughts on the long-term prospects of Hungary as well as the broader West.” Orbán claims that the West had lost its appeal to Central Europeans.
The lecture was followed by a panel discussion featuring The American Conservative’s Sohrab Ahmari and Helen Andrews along with Daniel McCarthy of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
From left Hungary’s Ambassador to Washington Szabolcs Takács, Balázs Orbán with his book, Daniel McCarthy, Helen Andrews and Sohrab Ahmari
The young Balázs Orbán is a Junior Minister and a close advisor to PM Viktor Orbán (no relation). He is a “lawyer, political scientist, and politician who serves as Political Director to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Minister of State to the Prime Minister’s Office. He is also the chairman of the board at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), Hungary’s leading talent management institution and knowledge center, and he leads the advisory board of the Ludovika – University of Public Service.”
The American Conservative is the brainchild of Rod Dreher who was a fellow at the Balázs run Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC). (read more here) Sohrab Ahmari, an Iranian who converted Catholicism, and Helen Andrews both work for Dreher.
Hungary is a small country and now spends tremendous amount of money on propaganda. As the New York Times recently noted Orbán fights criticism in the United States via vast influence campaign and “has spent millions on lobbying, support for think tanks and cultivating allies in Washington.”
At this point, it is not clear if Budapest’s new US propaganda strategy is successful. Viktor Orbán recently lost one of his long-time supporters, ex-Governor of New York State, George Pataki who has Hungarian ancestry.
Mr. Balázs also introduced a carefully crafted video to US audiences. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.
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György Lázár
Pingback: Orbán brings his anti-West campaign to the United States – Hungarian Free Press | NEWS EUROPE
It would be helpful to HFP audiences to be provided with concrete, empirically verifiable evidence – texts, quotations, citations – of this “unprecedented” upswing in “xenophobic, homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic messages” being transmitted to American audiences by the Orbán government’s “lobbyists” in the US. The absence of such evidence reduces the credibility of these “revelations” and makes it very easy for the trolls in this underpass to crow.
My own research shows exactly the opposite trend. Rather than up-playing the Orbán regime’s antisemitic messages, Orbán’s lobbyists are down-playing them in America. What is unprecedented is the full-court press to disguise the Orbán regime’s anti-democratic nature to American audiences (especially its homophobic, antisemitic, pro-Chinese autocratic bent). Witness the recent week-long coverage of Orbán’s Hungary by Tucker Carlson, the highest rated US prime-time TV host. I didn’t here a single antisemitic, or racist message being transmitted by Tucker. Au contraire – his message was, that Hungary is a paradise for Jews, Bibi and Viktor are thick as thieves, the country is a little haven of racial harmony, law and order, and environmental safety.
Haven’t read and won’t read BO’s book since I read the facts and figures here in Hungary while subjected to the omnipresent propaganda of the regime. I’d bet blindly that the book contains the same misrepresentations, half truths and straight lies just a bit sugar coted. Victor Orbán’s muzings and sermons on the world politics and political future aren’t worth the paper they’re written on since most of his international moves were abject failures. The man couldn’t outgrow his Felcsút (small village) origins and all the efforts if his scheming, crooked nature were towards his own empowering and enrichment. He succeeded to become the most corrupt politician in the EU and a more powerful autocrat than Kaczinsky.
Balázs Orbán’s “white Christian heterosexual Hungary” message has anti-Semitic undertones especially when it gets to “Gyuri bácsi” and the total rewrite of Hungary’s WWII history.
As far as Viktor Orbán’s anti-Semitism goes, I agree that we need more “case-studies” in HFP.. Ira Forman(!) recently wrote about an the anti-Semitic attack on a sitting US Secretary of State from Fidesz founder Zsolt Bayer.. see Hungarian journalist leveled an antisemitic attack on Antony Blinken – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)
…or in jweekly… Peter Eckstein-Kovacs has defended Jews and other Romanian minorities for decades. Will he survive the Orban era?
https://jweekly.com/2020/05/26/peter-eckstein-kovacs-has-defended-jews-and-other-romanian-minorities-for-decades-will-he-survive-the-orban-era/
Hungarian media downplaying all this but Bibi is gone, and Orbán’s Hungarian Jewish cheerleaders (eg. Slomo Köves) are very quiet. Incoming Israeli PM Yair Lapid passionately criticized Orbán’s praise of Horthy.
Tucker Carlson might be just another Rush Limbaugh, I wonder how long will he last. Remember Bannon, Gorka, Yiannopoulos…? Where are they now?
Was there any law concerning LGBT when EU was formed or when Hungary joined? Could not find anything specific.
Conservative governments served many countries very well. The citizens of Hungary elected FIDESZ to lead a conservative government. It is the Hungarians’ right to elect the kind of government they want. No amount of Marxist criticism will change the minds of the Hungarian electorate as long as the government responds to the needs of the people.
Dear Lázár Gyorgy,
Antiszemita az apád {MODERATED}, ha meg nem sértelek. Hazug {MODERATED} vagy, Édes Öregem.
Barátod:
András
“His government is isolated in the US due to Orbán’s pro-Putin and pro-China stand. ”
Really now? Because Germany is by far Russia’s number one partner on economic cooperation. Remind us where does NS2 go? Not to mention other important economic relations. Hungary’s position in this regard is in no way different. It is economic pragmatism. So could that really be the reason?
But yes, Hungary may feel isolated in the Western World. But the main reason is that the Western World in its final phase is experiencing an extreme case of groupthink. There is no questioning most of the recent progressive, leftist ideals. No amount of evidence will suffice that shows it can be harmful on so many levels. For instance, why is it that Asian kids are kicking butt in North America in terms of academic achievement? Why is it that on average they earn 1/3 more than those “privileged” white people? Is it perhaps their conservative culture they bring with them from Asia? That culture that leads to some of the lowest rates of divorce, strong life ethics on work and other things. So perhaps conservatism does have its merits, and perhaps there is a reason why the world’s economic center is shifting to more conservative Asia. But evidence be damned! Anyone daring to challenge the Neo-Marxist ideological belief system shall face cancelation. Be it individuals, companies, or nations!
Hungary should concentrate on being an honest family member of a liberal, democratic EU family and should honestly participate in the joint work there to overcome the common problems; instead of behaving like a child with its cheap divisive tactics and acting like a fool on the world stage, it should be giving all its energy and contribute to the best of its ability to the patient questioning of all authority and all traditional ‘wisdom’ what keeps the world enslaved; Hungary should publicly declare that she understands and is ready to explore different worldviews, religions, cultures, all the history and all the heritage of the world, and will not regret that his work might causes upheaval, conflict, to fully understand what it means to be a grownup, an ADULT.
What are those “common problems” of the “liberal, democratic EU family” these days? EU will sanction countries if they refuse to let Alphabet propaganda into classrooms, but they repeatedly stated that they don’t give a crap about 50 million people in the EU who qualify as a historical national minority. How are Hungarians supposed to relate to this, given that of the 50 million about 2 million are ethnic Hungarians, and they are among the least decently treated? Just 3 decades ago they used to number over 3 million!
What else is there? The ethno-cultural suicide program, where they want to replace native Europeans, whose birth rates are tanking with colonists from ME-Africa? Is that a worthy liberal goal for Hungarians to get behind?
Or is it the economic suicide goal in the name of unilaterally saving the planet? The poor delusional Europeans do not realize that while they are destroying their economy, their unilateral self-sacrifice will count for nothing. EU only accounts for 10% of global emissions. Hungary counts for .015% of global emissions the last time I checked. Yet Hungary needs to destroy itself to save the World? EU cut its emissions by 24% from 1990 levels. Global emissions rose by 55% in the same period.
Or is it the liberal order that prevented a single fortune 500 company to rise out of the former communist part of the EU? A region of 100 million people, with an economy the size of Italy’s, not a single fortune 500 company. The liberal order will do everything in its power to keep the region in this neo-Colonial economic trap. They provide the capital and extract the profits, while the Eastern members of the EU provide the labor and a consumer market for their corporations.
Please, tell us some more about this wonderful liberal order you think Hungary should concentrate on!