Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is facing a growing international backlash over inflammatory comments about race that led to the resignation of one of his close aides.
In his annual speech in Beile Tušnad, a Romanian city home to a large Hungarian community, Orbán warned his country against becoming more “mixed race” like Western nations. He said it was good for the nations of the Carpathian Basin to mix with each other, but not with “non-Europeans”.
The comments crossed the line for one of his long-time allies, sociologist Juža Hegedus, who on Tuesday resigned from her role as social inclusion adviser, describing Orbán’s speech as “pure Nazi text worthy of Goebbels”.
Hegedus said she had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the Hungarian prime minister’s “illiberal turn”, with the latest remarks prompting her to end their friendship of almost 20 years, according to Hungarian media.
Orbán responded in a statement, saying his government had a “zero tolerance policy for anti-Semitism and racism.”
In addition to remarks described as “openly racist” by Hegedus, Orbán also appeared to downplay Nazi gas chambers when he referred to EU plans to cut gas for member states: “I don’t see how it will be enforced – although, as as I understand it, the past shows us German know-how for this.’
Zsuzsa Hegedüs, a longtime ally of Orbán. resigned in protest at his speech, describing it as “pure Nazi text worthy of Goebbels” © YouTube
Orbán’s comments were deemed “stupid and dangerous” by the International Committee of Holocaust Survivors at Auschwitz, which called on European leaders to distance themselves from the Hungarian prime minister. Romania’s foreign minister also condemned the comments and said it was a shame they were made on Romanian soil.
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister, said on Twitter on Wednesday that “we are all different, our skin is different, our languages, cultures, beliefs. And yet we are all part of the same race, the human race. Racism is a poisonous political invention. There should be no place for this in Europe, where our strength comes from diversity.”
The backlash against Orban comes as Hungary, struggling with a sharp economic downturn, seeks to mend ties with Brussels to unblock €15 billion in EU pandemic recovery funds. In recent weeks, Orbán has agreed to concessions in the fight against corruption and the country’s refusal to import Russian energy.
“I can’t imagine that this will help Orbán’s case,” an EU diplomat said on Wednesday. “Hungary is becoming increasingly isolated among the 27.
A Hungarian government spokesman tried to downplay the scandal, saying in a tweet that “mainstream media elites are hyperventilating over a few tough lines from Prime Minister Orbán on immigration and assimilation.”
Orban is still scheduled to speak next week at a meeting of American conservatives in Texas.
“Let’s hear the man speak,” Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), told Bloomberg. “We’ll see what he says. And if people disagree with something he says, they should raise it.
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