PM Orbán re-elected as party leader

In the first comment on the weekend Fidesz party congress, a conservative critic of the government accuses Fidesz of using apocalyptic rhetoric to mobilize voters rather than debating more down to earth issues.

On Sunday, the Fidesz party congress re–elected PM Orbán as party leader for another two years. In his acceptance speech, PM Orbán said his most important goal was to win the 2018 election, in order to defend the achievements of his government in the past two terms in office. He defined the biggest threat to Hungary as the ‘Soros empire’, which he said wants to erase nations and create a two-speed Europe. 

In Magyar Nemzet, Szabolcs Szerető thinks that the Prime Minister’s words should be regarded as an election campaign speech. The conservative commentator welcomes the fact that the Prime Minister distanced his party from racist and class based discrimination, although in Szerető’s view, the government cannot always live up to these standards, particularly when talking about migrants. He sees PM Orbán’s claim that his main adversaries are the global elites that attack nation states and Christianity as a rhetorical stunt aimed at mobilizing his supporters rather than setting real policy targets. Szerető would prefer a more realistic tone and the discussion of more practical issues including corruption, health care and education.

Tags: 2018, Fidesz, Orbán