Orbán: Soros and the Open Society Foundations are crashing out

In the wake of a report that the Open Society Foundations (OSF) are leaving Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in his regular Friday interview to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, said “they are crashing out right now”.

In a statement after Austrian daily Die Presse said that the OSF, funded by US billionaire George Soros, was planning to close its Budapest office and move to Berlin this summer, the OSF released a statement qualifying the report, saying it was “closely watching developments around the draft legislation that would dramatically restrict the activities of civil society in Hungary”.

Asked about the Die Presse report, Orbán said: “Listeners will perhaps understand if I don’t cry crocodile tears.”

At the same time, Orbán said he expected conflicts to continue with Soros organisations, even if the OSF left Hungary.

“I know they won’t accept the outcome of the election; they will organise all sorts and they have unlimited financial means,” he said, referring to organisations financed by billionaire George Soros.

Referring to a list of “members of the Soros network” published by the weekly Figyelő last week, Orbán said transparency was at the heart of European policy and the press should continue to “help people to know the truth” and uncover “as many networks and cooperation as possible”. If they do not shy away from accepting money from abroad, they should not shy away from admitting to it, he added.

Orbán said his job was to defend Hungary against speculators.

He also said the most important issue of the next decade would be immigration. “It is a moral obligation to talk about it, and the message must get into every household a hundred times, and if need be a thousand times.”

Of the UN migration package proposal published earlier in the month, Orbán said Hungarians see migration as “a bad thing” to be curbed rather than encouraged. Everyone should be supported in making a living in their own homeland, he said. European civilisation, which is rooted in Christianity, must be protected, he said.

The prime minister said the European Union, which is to vote on migration rules in June, undermined the principles of democracy by attempting to cement decisions on migration policy a year before the EP elections. This, he insisted, would force the hand of the newly elected officials, he said.

Speaking of the results of the April 8 general election, Orbán said he was “happy and glad” to know that about 650,000 more had voted for the ruling alliance than in 2014, and 336,000 more than the supporters of all opposition parties combined.

Fidesz-KDNP has won everywhere, from the villages to the capital, he said.

Orbán pledged to serve all Hungarians. Those who did not vote for Fidesz-KDNP are also members of the Hungarian nation, he said.

All are free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association, Orbán said, referring to demonstrations since the election. He asked the demonstrators to protest peacefully.