George Soros blamed for migrant influx
November 5th, 2015A pro-government pundit lambasts the Hungarian American multibillionaire philanthropist whom PM Viktor Orbán named as a possible factor behind the current flow of migrants through the Balkans. A liberal weekly accuses those pushing anti-Soros rhetoric of groundless fear-mongering.
In Magyar Idők, Ottó Gajdics sees an irreconcilable antagonism between George Soros’s views on migration and the Prime Minister’s image of Europe. In a reaction to Mr Orbán’s accusation that he is promoting massive immigration into Europe, George Soros wrote that he is on the side of the refugees and sees national borders as an obstacle. Gajdics remarks that the Prime Minister, on the other hand wants to preserve national sovereignty. The two of them only agree on one point, Gajdics writes, namely that the Euroean Union has failed to meet the challenge. The problem is that according to Mr Soros, Europe should open itself to migrants, while the Prime Minister believes that it should protect its borders.
HVG online lists a series of statements Fidesz politicians have made over the past week on Mr Soros’s role in promoting NGOs who assist migrants. The liberal news site does not find these developments surprising, as ‘scare mongering against foreign powers is a major propaganda tool in the Fidesz arsenal’. HVG recalls that criticism of Mr Soros’s role in public affairs dates back to earlier years when he was accused of supporting former left-liberal Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány.