Minister Lázár says migrants make Vienna suburb dirty, poor and unsafe
March 9th, 2018A pro-government columnist agrees with János Lázár that life in Vienna is changing under the impact of Muslim immigration. A left-wing commentator finds Mr Lázár’s suggestions cynical and ridiculous.
In a Facebook video footage recorded in a former workers’ district of Vienna, János Lázár, the Minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Office said that Favoriten has become dirtier, poorer and less safe due to immigration. Minister Lázár claimed that ‘white Christians’ are rare to be seen in a district increasingly dominated by migrants who do not even speak German. He said unless Hungary forestalls mass immigration, Budapest in 20 years time will resemble the Favoriten district – and will become, as he put it ‘poor, unsafe and dirty’. Austrian politicians from across the political spectrum dismissed Mr Lázár’s statement. The footage was temporarily made unavailable by Facebook due to user’s complaints against its allegedly racist content, but then reappeared following complaints by users who wanted to see it. The government side criticized Facebook for ‘interfering’ in the April election. Fidesz politicians claim that major European cities including Vienna, London, Paris and other cities have indeed become unsafe as a result of mass immigration.
In Magyar Idők, Péter Szikszai finds Minister Lázár’s take on Vienna justified. The pro-government columnist accuses Liberals of ignoring factual evidence in an attempt to silence critics of immigration. Szikszai recalls that one fourth of Vienna’s inhabitants are not Austrian citizens, and the number of Muslims is increasing. He adds that police have arrested radical Muslims suspected of preparing terrorist acts. In conclusion, Szikszai notes that the main reason for the Left’s decline in Austria as well as Hungary is their unwillingness to abandon political correctness and acknowledge the threat posed by immigration.
Népszava’s Judit Kósa thinks that what she regards as Minister Lázár’s ‘propaganda stunt’ is unlikely to be taken seriously by any sane person. The left-wing pundit suspects that Mr Lázár’s opinion will further damage diplomatic relations between Hungary and Austria. Judit Kósa also suggests that as a result of what she considers a ridiculous, cynical and awkward propaganda video, Mr Lázár will lose any remaining credibility he retained as a politician.