Ruminations on increasingly extreme political rhetoric
July 6th, 2017A centrist commentator thinks that a comment by Lajos Bokros, leader of the conservative liberal Modern Hungary Movement, describing Prime Minister Orbán as a ‘fascist’ is counterproductive, and will help the governing party to mobilize its supporters.
Lajos Bokros, former Minister of Economy under Gyula Horn’s Socialist government, former MEP of the conservative MDF and current leader of the Modern Hungary Movement in a Facebook post called PM Orbán a ‘fascist’. Mr Bokros believes that the government’s anti-Soros campaign is nothing other than ‘anti-Semitic propaganda based on lies’, and thus, he claims, the Hungarian government and the Prime Minister are fascists.
Mr Bokros’ accusations help Prime Minister Orbán, rather than hurting him, Albert Gazda comments in Magyar Nemzet. The centrist columnist finds the government’s anti-Soros campaign highly problematic, but at the same time, he thinks that it has nothing to do with fascist ideology. The Orbán government has no ideological vision, but follows only public sentiments and does whatever it believes will help it to increase its popularity, Gazda contends. Mr Borkos’ accusation of fascist sympathies will help Fidesz more than the opposition to mobilize voters, Gazda suspects.