Hungary seen as an island of ‘normality’

Conservative commentators accuse the ‘West’ and ‘Brussels’ of attacking Hungary in order to punish it for defending traditional Christian and European values.

Magyar Demokrata editor-in-chief András Bencsik accuses the European Union of attacking the ‘natural and divine order’ by pushing an LGBT agenda. The pro-government commentator believes that progressive elites promote an unnatural transgender ideology that goes against the basic biological rules of nature. In a passing remark, Bencsik suggests that the Carpathian Basin has been spared from the floods devastating Europe ‘by divine grace.’

Magyar Hírlap’s Mariann Őry accuses liberals opposing the government’s referendum on child protection norms (see BudaPost July 23) of advocating anti-democratic ideals. The conservative pundit thinks that liberals in Hungary and in the EU use human rights to claim that referenda are anti—democratic. Őry sees such claims as absurd, noting that ‘democracy’ means ‘the rule of the people’. She accuses western liberals of trying to limit democracy and constrain people under the pretext of defending rights. She depicts liberals in the West as paternalizing elites that despise majorities who do not share their ideals.

In Magyar Nemzet, Attila Juhász surmises that ‘the progressive West’ is attacking Hungary for purely ideological reasons. The pro-government commentator writes that Hungary could never count on Western Europe. Since the 17th century, Western Europe always sided with the enemies of Hungary, or, at least, ignored the invasion of the country. Juhász goes so far as to claim that Hungary’s most tragic historical traumas were designed by ‘the West’. As examples, he mentions the 1920 Trianon Peace Treaty and the post-1945 division of Europe. Even after 1990, he concludes, Hungary has been considered a sources of cheap labour, where Western companies can do whatever they want. Juhász thinks that the Hungarian government is under attack for not adopting progressive Western values and instead, for defending traditional, Christian and European values.

Tags: European Union, LGBTQ