Opposition parties blast Orbán’s ‘Soros plan’ public survey plans

The opposition Socialist and Democratic Coalition (DK) parties on Thursday lambasted the government’s plan to launch a nationwide public survey on the so-called “Soros plan”, calling on the ruling parties to focus on more important issues.

Earlier in the day, Lajos Kósa, the Fidesz party’s outgoing group leader, confirmed reports that his party had requested the government to conduct a “national consultation” survey on the “Soros plan”, referring to US financier George Soros.

In reaction to Kósa’s announcement, László Botka, the Socialist Party’s candidate for prime minister, called on the government to focus the survey on the state of Hungary’s health-care sector.

“Rather than continuing its fear-mongering and manufacturing conspiracy theories, Fidesz should finally deal with Hungary’s real problems,” Botka said in a statement.

He said that if Fidesz were interested in a real consultation with voters, the questionnaire should ask them whether they prefer that the government focus its spending on the construction of sports stadiums or improving health care.

The survey should also ask the public whether it thinks Hungary should support the establishment of a European prosecutor so that “certain groups cannot steal European development funds”, he said.

Meanwhile, DK called on the prime minister not to spend taxpayer money on “foolish campaigns”.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “is terrified of being ousted, losing power and is launching a campaign over his fear of George Soros”,

Zsolt Gréczy, the party’s spokesman, told a press conference.

The Hungarian people, on the other hand, fear a deteriorating health-care system, not being able to afford higher education, growing emigration and poverty, Gréczy insisted.

The Dialogue Party slammed Fidesz for its “attempt to instill fear in people and spread hate among them” with a “non-existent Soros plan” in the run-up to next year’s election.

The ruling parties’ election platform next year will consist of nothing but the name “Soros”, Bence Tordai, the party’s spokesman, told a press conference. With such a programme, Fidesz and the Christian Democrats will be sending the message that Hungary is free of problems such as “growing poverty and hopelessness”, a “rotting health-care sector” or “an education system that has been dragged back to the 19th century”, he said.

Tordai said

the survey would be a waste of billions of forints in public funds,

adding that his party believed that Hungarians want to live in peace and security rather than in fear and hate.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI