Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban defended his statements last weekend on “racial mixing” during an official visit to Vienna on Thursday, claiming they represent a “cultural perspective”.
“I sometimes speak in a way that can be misunderstood, but I asked the chancellor (Karl Nehammer) to put the statement in a cultural context,” Orban said at a joint press conference with the Austrian president.
“In Hungary, these expressions and expressions represent a cultural and civic point of view,” he continued.
The Hungarian nationalist leader, who has a habit of making anti-immigrant critiques, rejected his vision of a “multiethnic” society in a speech Saturday in Romania’s large Hungarian community in Transylvania.
“We don’t want to be a mixed race,” Orban said, before referring to the Nazi regime’s gas chambers, criticizing Brussels’ plan to reduce Europe’s consumption of this fuel by 15%.
The Hungarian head of government, who made similar statements in the past, said, “The countries where European and non-European peoples live together are no longer nations. These countries are nothing but conglomerates of peoples.” the term “race” according to experts.
This earned him harsh criticism from the Jewish community and the resignation of an aide.
Zsuzsa Hegedus, a long-time Orban counselor and parents Holocaust survivor sociologist Zsuzsa Hegedus, a rare case during the Orban era, submitted his resignation Tuesday.
He denounced “an embarrassing position” and “a pure Nazi text worthy of (Joseph) Goebbels”, referring to the former head of Nazi Germany propaganda.
Since his return to power in 2010, Orban has been implementing “anti-liberal” reforms in his country, based on “the defense of a Christian Europe”.
In particular, it attacked immigrants from Africa and the Middle East and the NGOs that helped them, hindered their right to asylum and erected border walls.
Nehammer strongly condemned “all forms of racism and anti-Semitism” and assured that both leaders approached the issue with “total honesty”.
Saying that he is “proud” of Hungary’s “zero tolerance” policy, Orban replied, “We are in an excellent agreement.”
The two men also discussed “illegal immigration” and “energy cooperation”, as both countries are heavily dependent on Russian gas.
Orban once again took the opportunity to blame Brussels policy in the face of the conflict in Ukraine.
Hungary specifically opposes the coordinated gas consumption reduction plan voted on Tuesday in the face of falling Russian deliveries.
“If we start restricting a product, it is a sign that we are in trouble. We are heading towards a war economy, and if this war continues, recession is inevitable,” said the Hungarian prime minister.
Viktor Orban is making his first visit to one of the European Union (EU) partners since his triumphant re-election in early April.
Austria, a neutral country aiming to be a bridge between Western and Eastern Europe, is keen not to exclude Hungary, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
source: Noticias
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