Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, during his 20th annual state of the nation speech on Sunday, said that “Christianity is Europe’s last hope.” He added that European leaders have “opened the way to to the decline of Christian culture and the advance of Islam.”
Orban also stated that Hungary will continue to oppose efforts by the European Union and (to a lesser degree) the United Nations to encourage mass migration from the Middle East and Africa.
That’s all controversial enough in today’s climate, but Orban wasn’t done yet. He also described Europe as being steadily conquered by migrants. “Born Germans,” he said, “are being forced back from most large German cities, as migrants always occupy cities first.”
He concluded that, because of the failed policies of Brussels, Berlin, and Paris, “Islam” will “knock on Central Europe’s door” from two directions: from the south and from the west.
Although very popular in his own country, other European politicians — and especially the official (but unelected) leaders of the EU — detest, distrust, and even fear Orban. The reason is obvious: Orban has no patience whatsoever for globalism, multiculturalism, and political correctness.
Americans would probably be inclined to call Orban “the Hungarian Trump,” but he’s nothing of the sort. Orban is the original, Trump is at best (or worst, depending on your perspective) a mere imitation. And a weak one at that. After all, although he’s not exactly in favor of unlimited migration, Trump has never made statements such as this: “The main question over the next few decades is this: Will Europe remain the continent of the Europeans?” Orban has long spoken in this manner.
Western European leaders also accuse Orban of being “illiberal.” They see him as the leader of Eastern Europe’s anti-multiculturalism, anti-immigration, nationalist-populist, authoritarian tendency. They believe that the longer Orban stays in power, the likelier it becomes that he’ll be joined by more leaders in other countries in the region. Indeed, this has already started to occur. In Poland, for example, many of his methods and policies are being copied.
That’s why European bureaucrats and europhile Western European leaders fear that Hungary’s Orban poses “a threat to the EU’s values, perhaps even its future.”
Well, Orban will almost certainly win re-election in April. According to the most recent polls, his Fidesz party is supported by 51 percent of already decided voters. That is three times the support expressed for his main rivals — the far-right Jobbik party.
In other words, the bad boy of European politics is here to stay. In the years ahead, he’ll likely step up his criticism of Brussels’ demand for European-wide unlimited immigration. And, while doing so, he may very well unite the Eastern bloc against the Western bloc led by France and Germany. This could do irreparable harm to the EU.
Which is, of course, exactly why eurosceptics are quite happy with Orban, even if they disagree with some of his policies and rhetoric.
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