Hungarians Deserve Greater Respect from Sweden’s Europe Minister, Says Szijjártó

(MTI) – Hungary and Hungarians deserve greater respect from the Swedish European affairs minister, the state secretary for foreign and trade affairs, Péter Szijjártó, said on Thursday, after reports that Birgitta Ohlsson had criticised Viktor Orbán, the premier.

Ohlsson wrote in Sweden’s Aftonbladet daily that “Orban’s lot are looking to Russia for their political model, and instead of a liberal democracy it treats the illiberal state and labour-based society as its values while handling defenders of rights and the civil sector as obstacles….”

In a statement, Szijjártó said it was “unacceptable” that the minister had made up “pure lies” about “Hungary and the Hungarian people”. He said that European citizens had the right to expect European politicians to carry out their duties in line with European values.

Ohlsson grossly slandered Hungary and the Hungarian people, and ignored a basic European value, namely respect for facts, he added.

In a recent speech, Orbán slammed the model of the liberal western welfare state, saying that Hungary, in this respect, would follow an illiberal approach.

Photo: MTI – Szilard Koszticsak

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters