Orbán cabinet: Hungary ‘freer than Western Europe’

Hungary is “considerably freer than countries in Western Europe”, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office told a conference on Monday and cited conditions in the Hungarian media as “clear evidence”.

Gergely Gulyás insisted that mainstream media in Hungary covered “very different values from the extreme left to the radical right”. Every ideology is present and “everybody has an opportunity to participate in discussions about topics of public interest”, he added.

In Western Europe, by comparison, “the press that branded itself conservative before has by now given up its positions on all important issues,” Gulyás said.

“Press freedom in Hungary cannot be questioned, everybody can publish in line with their own orientation and nobody will be stigmatised for their opinion,” he added.

The 21st century is “threatening with left-liberal themes becoming exclusive” and “those that won’t accept that could be excluded from politics”, Gulyás said. “But central Europe has some strong resistance from this point of view … Hungary has not given up the goal that ‘normalcy’ should continue to be promoted,” he said.

“Inevitable” social changes now under way in Western Europe “do not favour the conservative world”, Gulyás said, and raised concern if “principles and foundation that can make society operational in the long run, and which are accepted by everyone as right and undisputable could be maintained”.