Economy
EU should challenge Hungary's 'illiberalism' - The Washington Post
“For four years Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been dispatching lobbyists and high-level envoys to Brussels and Washington to argue that his policies are misunderstood. Critics who claimed that he aimed to dismantle institutions such as free media and independent courts, limit freedom of religion and make his right-wing party invulnerable to electoral defeat were badly mistaken, Mr. Orban’s defenders claimed; all he was really doing was sweeping away the last vestiges of Hungary’s former communist regime," the WP said.“Now Mr. Orban has pulled the rug out from under his own propagandists," it added.
The WP said that in an extraordinary speech delivered on 26 July before an ethnic Hungarian audience in neighbouring Romania, Hungary’s Prime Minister “proclaimed his intention to turn Hungary, a member of both NATO and the European Union, into a state that “will undertake the odium of expressing that in character it is not of liberal nature."
Citing as models Singapore, China, India, Turkey and Russia, Mr. Orban added: “We have to abandon liberal methods and principles of organizing a society, as well as the liberal way to look at the world."“In fact, after four years of Mr. Orban’s government, Hungarians know all too well what he has in mind: strict curbs on free expression, discriminatory laws aimed at non-Christians and the Roma minority and a state-directed economic populism that regards private or foreign capital with suspicion," said the paper.
It added that in reality, what the PM portrays as a new, post-crisis political model is “little more than the same authoritarian nationalism practiced by thugs and charlatans throughout the 20th century — including Hungary’s pro-Nazi World War II regime."
“If there was an original idea in the July 26 speech, it was that Hungary could embrace “illiberalism" while remaining a member in good standing of the European Union," it said.
The WP urged European Union leaders to “move quickly to disabuse Mr. Orban of that conceit."
“The union, which has promised Hungary USD 20 bn in aid over the next seven years, must make clear that member nations cannot reap the benefits of membership while violating their treaty commitments to freedom of expression and the rule of law. The United States, too, should downgrade relations with Mr. Orban’s government. Mr. Orban has excluded himself from the democratic West; he and his government should be treated accordingly," the paper concluded.
Brussels has nothing to say about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech, in which he pledged to seek building an "illiberal state" and practically called non-governmental organizations the agents of foreign interests. A European Commission spokesperson said on 3ö July that the speech given to "a summer camp" does not mean Hungary is breaking with its obligations as an EU member state.Orbán has further discussed his ideas of what kind of democracy he wants in Hungary in a radio interview last Friday.
The WP said that in an extraordinary speech delivered on 26 July before an ethnic Hungarian audience in neighbouring Romania, Hungary’s Prime Minister “proclaimed his intention to turn Hungary, a member of both NATO and the European Union, into a state that “will undertake the odium of expressing that in character it is not of liberal nature."
Citing as models Singapore, China, India, Turkey and Russia, Mr. Orban added: “We have to abandon liberal methods and principles of organizing a society, as well as the liberal way to look at the world."“In fact, after four years of Mr. Orban’s government, Hungarians know all too well what he has in mind: strict curbs on free expression, discriminatory laws aimed at non-Christians and the Roma minority and a state-directed economic populism that regards private or foreign capital with suspicion," said the paper.
It added that in reality, what the PM portrays as a new, post-crisis political model is “little more than the same authoritarian nationalism practiced by thugs and charlatans throughout the 20th century — including Hungary’s pro-Nazi World War II regime."
“If there was an original idea in the July 26 speech, it was that Hungary could embrace “illiberalism" while remaining a member in good standing of the European Union," it said.
The WP urged European Union leaders to “move quickly to disabuse Mr. Orban of that conceit."
“The union, which has promised Hungary USD 20 bn in aid over the next seven years, must make clear that member nations cannot reap the benefits of membership while violating their treaty commitments to freedom of expression and the rule of law. The United States, too, should downgrade relations with Mr. Orban’s government. Mr. Orban has excluded himself from the democratic West; he and his government should be treated accordingly," the paper concluded.
Brussels has nothing to say about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech, in which he pledged to seek building an "illiberal state" and practically called non-governmental organizations the agents of foreign interests. A European Commission spokesperson said on 3ö July that the speech given to "a summer camp" does not mean Hungary is breaking with its obligations as an EU member state.Orbán has further discussed his ideas of what kind of democracy he wants in Hungary in a radio interview last Friday.
