The Left has once again called for a clear strategy to deal with authoritarian regimes during the debate with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The criticism from the European Christian Democrats (EPP) is pure hypocrisy. Manfred Weber and Ursula von der Leyen courted Orbán for years and now allow him to blackmail the entire EU. From the start, the Left has insisted that the EU Council Presidency should never be handed to Orbán. It’s time to stop pandering to autocrats.  

Left co-chair Martin Schirdewan (Die Linke, Germany) delivered a sharp rebuke to Orbán and his policies, stating: “Every year, Europe’s largest neo-Nazi rally takes place in Budapest. Perhaps you, Mr. Orbán, believe that fascism is a political opinion and not a crime against humanity. As an anti-fascist, I see it differently. And as a democrat, I demand that the German anti-fascists like Maja T., who are sitting in Hungarian prisons, be immediately transferred back to Germany, and that there be a Europe-wide halt to extraditions to Hungary.” 

Left MEP Ilaria Salis (Sinistra Italiana, Italy) added: “Hungary, under Viktor Orbán, has become an illiberal and oligarchic regime, an authoritarian ethnic state. Some even call it a ‘modern tyranny.’ What is clear is that the rule of law and media freedoms are not guaranteed. Dissent is criminalized, civil society is repressed. While loyal oligarchs grow rich, social and regional inequalities worsen. The rights of minorities are violated, and racism has become mainstream.” 

“Questo è il fiore del partigiano, o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao, questo è il fiore del partigiano morto per la libertà.“