A Pro-Nazi’ in the EU and NATO? Hungarian PM Condemned – Al Bawaba

Being a member of the European Union and the NATO alliance, comments made by Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban have prompted a strong backlash by EU leaders, as they were perceived as "pro-Nazi" ones.

Delivering an annual speech in Romania for an educational program last week, Hungarian Prime MinisterVictor Orban warned of "mixed-racepopulations" in Europe, saying a non-European "flooding" of immigrants is taking over "our European homeland".

"There is a world in which European peoples are mixed together with those arriving from outside Europe [...] Now, that is a mixed-race world [...] We are simply a mixture of peoples living in our own European homeland. ... We are willing to mix with one another, but we do not want to become peoples of mixed-race.'' - Hungary's Victor Orban - 27 July 2022

Following Victor Orban's remarks, many European leaders issued statements condemning the speech, deeming it a "purely Nazi one".

In a TV interview,President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen considered Orban's speech a slam on EU values, saying "Discriminate on the basis of race is trampling on values the European Union is built on; equality, tolerance, fairness, and justice".

While leaders of EU parliaments consideredVictor Orban's statements as "openly racist",Zsuzsa Hegedus, one of Orban's long-time allies submitted her resignation, calling his speech a "pure Nazi text" and comparing him toGerman Nazi politician Joseph Goebbels who was the chief propagandist for the Nazi Party between1933 to 1945.

Moreover,the International Auschwitz Committee called on the European Unionto continue to "distance itself from" what they described as Orban's "racist undertones" and to "make it clear to the world that a Mr. Orban has no future in Europe."

The USenvoy against anti-Semitism Deborah Lipstadt also said she was"deeply alarmed" by the"use of rhetoric that clearly evokes Nazi racial ideology".

Victor Orban's comments have prompted mixed reactions online, with some commentators arguing that his "Nazi" remarks echo a rising sentiment in Europe after waves of migration from outside the continent, while others mentioned names of other right-wingimmigration-opposing politicians with growing popularity in the world, such as former US PresidentDonald Trump,Italian politicians Matteo Salvini and Giorgia Meloni, in addition to French politicians Marine Le Pen andEric Zemmour who just lost the bid for the presidency last Spring.

Even though Victor Orban assumed the Prime Minister's office for the second time in2010, after a first term between 1998 and 2002, his remarks over European race have been stirring controveries since 2018, which coincided with the rising popularity of white nationalism in Europe and North America.

During a meeting of the Association of Cities with County Rights in 2018, Victor Orban openly declared opposition to "diversity in Europe", saying "We must state that we do not want to be diverse and do not want to be mixed: we do not want our own color, traditions and national culture to be mixed with those of others. We do not want this. We do not want that at all. We do not want to be a diverse country".

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A Pro-Nazi' in the EU and NATO? Hungarian PM Condemned - Al Bawaba