Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban caused bilateral discontent today with a speech at the summer university at Baile Tusnad (Hungarian: Tusnadfürdö) in Transylvania, Romania.
Orban mocked Romania’s government and political system in front of representatives of the Hungarian minority. Orban was later accused by the Romanian side of behaving “as an extremist leader and not as a leader of the state”.
In the first part of his traditional speech at the summer academy organized by his FIDESZ party, Orban unexpectedly got involved with the Romanian political scene: To the amusement of the Hungarian-born participants, Orban poked fun at the fact that Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu (Post-Communists/PSD), whom he met in Bucharest just a few days ago, was the 20th Romanian counterpart he had met since taking office. said Orban.
Orban also criticized the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They recommended in writing what he “should not talk about” in his speech, such as national symbols and collective minority rights. He was also asked not to mention Szeklerland in Transylvania, which is predominantly inhabited by the Hungarian-speaking population.
Orban’s speech also focused on the “weakness of the EU”, the “strengthening of China” and an “imbalance in the world”. Orban spoke of a “great debate” between the EU and Hungary on “population exchange through migration” and the “LGBTQ lobby”.