Swedish newspaper: PM Orbán acts like a gangster

The Hungarian governing parties’ parliamentary delegation arrived in Sweden on Monday. Earlier to that date, Fidesz and KNDP MPs expressed serious doubts regarding Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession. The two Nordic countries “spread lies” about Hungary, the government parties believe. Now, they want to discuss those aforementioned allegations in Stockholm and Helsinki, but a Swedish newspaper already labeled Orbán a gangster.

Orbán is a gangster for claiming respect?

According to 444.hu, the parliamentary delegation of the governing parties is led by Zsolt Németh, the head of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee. He is a well-known ‘Atlantist’ and an old member of Fidesz. He told TT news agency they deserved more respect, 444.hu wrote.

Here is his Facebook post following the bilateral talks with the Swedish MPs. He said the Swedish parliament would create a Hungarian friendship group. He also highlighted the importance of mutual respect:

The Swedish Aftonbladet wrote that the Swedish politicians should not be as conciliatory as they were with Türkiye because that attitude only encouraged President Erdoğan to claim more. They added that the Hungarian government expects to respect instead of earning it, like a gangster. They also called PM Orbán Putin’s friend. Aftonbladet also wrote about the smear campaigns launched by the Hungarian government and the occupation of universities, media, and courts.

Finland and Sweden submitted their bid after Russia began the invasion of Ukraine. All member states accepted and ratified that except for Türkiye and Hungary.

• Read also: Hungary will veto Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession?

Hungary supporting least developed countries

Hungary is ready to continue taking a fair share in supporting the world’s least developed countries to strengthen their stability and prevent future waves of migration, the foreign minister said in Qatar on Tuesday. Péter Szijjártó told a UN conference in Doha that the negative effects of the war in neighbouring Ukraine directly affected Hungary, the ministry said in a statement. Though regional, the war’s consequences are felt around the world, he added.

He said the war highlighted the fragility of the existing international system, with serious challenges appearing in global food and energy supplies which could lead to security risks. “Food shortages and increasing energy prices could lead to serious security risks in countries that have a low level of development and lack stability,” he said. This could easily lead to the spread of extreme ideologies and a growing sense of danger, which are among the main triggers of mass illegal migration, he said. Europe faces serious security risks from the east, and under such conditions, it would barely handle a challenge from the south in the form of increased illegal migration, he added.

• Read also: Sweden and Finland NATO accession: whose interests does Orbán represent?

Aid, water management, universities

“In the light of the war in Ukraine, it is more important than ever to support the least developed countries to prevent further mass waves of illegal migration,” he said. Hungary is ready to maintain its contribution to these efforts and support all UN and European Union initiatives aiming to increase support for the affected countries with a view to enhancing their stability, Szijjártó said. He cited among past government measures a 760 million US dollar credit line by Eximbank to the least developed countries in order to promote cooperation.

Additionally, 250 million dollars-worth of aid credit has been announced to improve the situation in water management, health care and food security, he said. The coronavirus pandemic has posed a huge challenge to poorer countries, and Hungary has contributed 1.7 million doses of vaccine to help protect the globe, he said. Considering that vaccine stocks are still abundant, Hungary is ready to increase this contribution, he added. He also highlighted the fact that 715 scholarships are offered in Hungary’s higher education for students from the world’s least developed countries. With 9,992 applications submitted this year, this number could be increased, he said.

Additionally, Hungary has supported Christian communities in the affected countries with around 8 million US dollars through 65 projects, he said. “As a country with one thousand years of Christian statehood, we feel responsibility for Christian communities in need around the world,” he added.

Source: MTI, 444.hu