Hungary Further Isolated on the World Stage

In this Monthly Foresight, we look at Viktor Orbán’s fiery speech, Poland’s energy hurdles and elections in Latvia and the Czech Republic.

Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, held a controversial speech at his annual gathering at Băile Tușnad, a town in the Hungarian-majority region of Harghita in Romania. The far-right leader criticised the mixing of European and non-European races, pushed Nazi terminology, and talked about dismantling the West.

During his talk, he alluded to the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy, a plot to dilute the white populations of the US and European countries through immigration. He criticised the West’s continuous support and funding of Ukraine, positioning himself as Moscow’s foremost ally inside the European Union. 

The speech was particularly striking, given its location, in Romania, which is home to many ethnic minorities, from Hungarians to Germans and Roma people. Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, declared that it’s ‘regrettable’ that such discourse is taking place on Romanian soil, even though Romanian authorities warned beforehand that Orbán should not stir up ethnic disputes with his speech.