© Marco Tacca/Getty ImagesHungarian PM Viktor Orban
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has marked the anniversary of his country's failed 1956 uprising against the USSR by accusing the European Union of seeking Soviet-like dominance by trying to strip Budapest of its identity.
Orban, in a speech on Monday in the western Hungarian city of Veszprem, said:
"Today, things pop up that remind us of the Soviet times. Yes, it happens that history repeats itself. Fortunately, what once was tragedy is now a comedy at best. Fortunately, Brussels is not Moscow. Moscow was a tragedy. Brussels is just a bad contemporary parody."Orban claimed that Brussels has tried to impose a model of liberal democracy that the Hungarian people have rejected. He added that although the EU's domineering methods hark back to the Soviet era, the bloc is not able to rule with an iron fist.
"We had to dance to the tune that Moscow whistled. Brussels whistles too, but we dance as we want to, and if we don't want to, then we don't dance."Hungary's October 23 holiday commemorates the start of a 1956 revolution, which was crushed by Soviet troops after just 12 days. Orban typically gives a speech to supporters on the holiday and has previously used it to make comparisons between Soviet oppression and EU tactics. Last year, he predicted that the bloc would end up like the Soviet Union.
Orban has clashed with the EU on Russia sanctions, illegal immigration, and LGBTQ "propaganda," among other issues. Just last week, he roiled Western allies by meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. He has called for a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has argued that sanctions against Moscow have made citizens of EU countries poorer.
The PM suggested in Monday's speech that Hungarians have a different view of freedom than their Western allies.
"For Westerners, freedom means escape -- get rid of yourself, get rid of what you were born into, change nation, change gender, change identity. For Hungarians, freedom is a life instinct, and we're not willing to give up our identity. The thought of not being a man, a Christian and a Hungarian is like tearing our hearts apart."
Reader Comments
Let's see if Orban understands this an an invitation to leave.
Is there really no one keeping anyone in the EU by force?
...and Yugoslavia?
I am well aware that the Bruessels bureaucrats will pull every string to keep the thing together. And similiar to Serbia, Hungary is landlocked between Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and several other EU members. Cutting ties would provoke serious and surely illegal counter measures. As the US master, the EU is "rules-based", not law-based.
Unlike then with Serbia/Kosovo, the EU is not capable to contain Hungary militarily, especially in it's current state.
I see Borell's statement as indignant scolding, and a sign of weakness. This winter will reveal how much of of the EU's plans and announcements are just smoke and mirror.
"Let's see if Orban understands this an an invitation to leave."