Opposition says Orban speech points to weakening Fidesz

Budapest (MTI) – Opposition parties said the speech delivered by Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday was “empty” and pointed to signs of a “weakening” ruling party.

Orban gave his regular start-of-year speech assessing the state of affairs in the Varkert Bazar on Friday afternoon.

Roland Marton, the deputy leader of the Socialists, said that the speech showed Fidesz was in crisis, as it had been deserted by one million supporters. Orban’s “bazaar talk” included a long wish list, and the prime minister “made a great effort to speak louder than the facts, but in fact failed in that,” Marton said. Fidesz is today unable to either protect or represent the people, he said.

Gabor Vona, the leader of radical nationalist Jobbik, said Orban has been waging a political cold war instead of effective governing.

“What Hungary would need instead is composed, substantive and constructive debates,” Vona told a press conference.

He said the public had heard not a prime minister, but a Fidesz leader who lost confidence, adding that it was no surprise that Orban had not addressed real issues such as education, health care, free trade talks and the departure of Hungarians from the country.

Andras Schiffer, co-chair of green LMP, said that Orban and his government had turned Hungary into a country where working people were poor. He criticised Orban’s remarks about record high employment, insisting that only 40,000 “crisis-proof” jobs had been created altogether with ” development funds rolled out last year, an election year.”

The leftist Democratic Coalition said that Orban had delivered “an empty speech” in which he sought to back up his government’s performance with false data. “Hungarians on Friday could see a prime minister shaken in his intellectual capacity and scope of action in politics,” said Zsolt Greczy, the party spokesman.

Viktor Szigetvari, the leader of the Egyutt (Together) party, said the public saw “a tired and shattered” prime minister of a weakening Hungary. At the same time Orban “forgot” to talk about corruption, poverty and the “hopelessness” that embraces the country, Szigetvari said.

Rebeka Szabo, board member of the Dialogue for Hungary (PM) party, said that the success story Orban talked about concerned only those “privileged” people who were close to him and to ruling Fidesz. But Hungarian people see through Orban and want no more “state of the nation speeches hinting at false dreams,” she said, adding that there would be an end to “Orban’s lies” soon.

Liberal leader Gabor Fodor said that only a “weak prime minister” unable to face his own failure would point a finger at immigrants, at Europe and at the liberals.

Orban failed to talk about a number of things, he failed for instance to reveal the names of people banned from entering the US and to state clearly whether he chose to side with Putin or the EU, Fodor said in a statement.

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