Orban declares end of ‘liberal democracy’ in Hungary, vows to fight for Christian values
Viktor Orban has declared the end of “liberal democracy” in Hungary, saying it has failed to defend freedoms and Christian culture in wake of the migrant crisis. He vowed to build a “Christian democracy” defying EU dictates.
In a Thursday address given after Hungary’s new parliament handed him his third straight term, the Prime Minister said that Hungarians have defied the “old world order” in favor of Christian democracy, allowing Hungary to “survive and grow” as a nation.
“The era of liberal democracy has come to an end. It is unsuitable to protect human dignity, inadmissible to give freedom, cannot guarantee physical security, and can no longer maintain Christian culture,” Orban said.
Hungary has built a “twenty-first century Christian democracy that guarantees human dignity, freedom and security” as well as “protects the traditional family model,” the PM said. He added: “We are Christian Democrats and we want Christian Democracy.”
Orban said he would not acquiesce to EU-imposed migrant quotas, warning that mass migration “can lead to the deaths of nations” as he vowed to defend the interests of the Hungarian people and safeguard Christian values.
“Today, thousands of paid activists, bureaucrats and politicians are working in Brussels to classify migration as a fundamental human right. That is why they want to take away the right to decide who we accept and who not,” Orban said.
He urged the European Union to “return to the grounds of reality,” saying that the EU should abandon the “delusional nightmares” of a United States of Europe and instead be “an alliance of free nations.”
“My government will be the government of free Hungarians and sovereign Hungarians,” Orban said.
Orban’s policy has apparently struck a chord with Hungarians, who voted him in for a third consecutive term, with his Fidesz party winning two-thirds of the parliament seats in the April 8 elections. He has also gained a sizeable city-dwelling opposition calling for“regime change” and a lifetime nemesis in the form of Hungarian-born media tycoon George Soros, whose NGO is now reportedly moving out of Budapest due to “political hostility.” For his part, Orban has launched a crusade against Soros-controlled organizations, saying “no matter how many times George Soros goes to Brussels, no matter how many times the issue of illegal immigration is placed on the agenda, and no matter how many allies George Soros has in Brussels, we will not back down.”
The EU has repeatedly threatened the Eurosceptic PM with sanctions over alleged violations of rights, freedoms and “EU values” in general, but it has not resulted in any action against Budapest so far.
Orban, who has been branded a “dictator” and a “nationalist” by his EU critics, is not, however, the only European official turning to Christianity in the wake of the refugee and migrant crisis. Germany’s Bavaria, controlled by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s key allies Christian Social Union (CSU), has recently ordered Christian crosses to be placed in government buildings to reflect its “cultural identity and Christian-Western influence.” While Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder said that such objects should not be seen as “the sign of a religion,” he has been previously quoted as saying that “crucifixes belong in classrooms, headscarves don’t.”
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