Western Europe is under migrant invasion, Hungary PM says
Viktor Orban spoke at a rally to mark the 170th anniversary of the 1848 revolution against Habsburg rule.
Hungary’s prime minister painted an apocalyptic view of Western Europe on Thursday, saying it was under a migrant invasion that will soon make native-born Europeans a minority.
Viktor Orban, speaking at a massive rally three weeks ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary election, said Western Europe has surrendered with “its hands up” to the mass migration of people from Africa and the Middle East.
“The situation is that those who don’t block migration at their borders will be lost. They will be digested slowly but surely,” said Mr Orban, one of the nationalist politicians who has risen to power in Europe and been openly hostile to refugees and asylum-seekers.
“The youth of Western Europe will still live to see when they become a minority in their own country and lose the only place in the world to call home,” he added.
Mr Orban has made his policies to block immigration the near-exclusive focus of his campaign for a third consecutive term.
“Naturally, after the elections, we will avenge ourselves — moral, political and legal reparations,” he said. “But now, we can’t waste our energy or our time on this.”
Mr Orban made another of his regular attacks on George Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire and philanthropist.
Mr Soros is seeking to impose his “open society” ideals on Europe and supports critics of the ruling party’s government, the prime minister alleged.
Mr Orban listed Mr Soros among Hungary’s historical foes — the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburgs and the Soviet Union.
“We ask that you to go back to America and make the Americans happy instead,” he said.
Many tens of thousands of his supporters took part in the anniversary event nominally organised by a pro-Orban civic group and held with the full support of his Fidesz party.
Dozens of buses brought people from across the country to the march, which ended at Parliament’s Kossuth Square.
Several opposition groups — including a coalition of left-wing parties, the far-right Jobbik party, the satirical Two-Tailed Dog Party and a student movement — held smaller rallies and remembrances in Budapest, the Hungarian capital.
