US Ambassador to Hungary Accuses Fidesz Party of Fear-Fostering

Photo: US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman

US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, a frequent critic of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, accused it on Wednesday, September 18, of using its control over the media to foment fear, Agence France-Presse reports.

Since Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, many independent print media in Hungary have either been closed or bought by his supporters and turned into outlets for Fidesz ideology.

Speaking on Wednesday, On September 18, at a conference organized by the opposition Budapest municipality, Pressman said that “the ruling party's control over the media and its attacks on civil society have created an atmosphere of fear” [in the country].

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The ambassador accused Fidesz of conducting an active smear campaign against those who speak the truth, rendering its victims “professionally radioactive, socially untouchable, and even commercially incapacitated.”

Pressman specifically cited the case of two judges who met with him and were then subjected to nearly three months of “poisonous” smear campaign and were denigrated as “traitors”.

“Every judge in Hungary has learned that even non-political criticism of the system from within is… treason and will have consequences,” the US ambassador to Budapest explained.

Pressman recalled that Hungarian leader Viktor Orban opposes NATO decisions, “being reliably protected by the NATO security umbrella”, and opposes EU decisions – “being under the cover of… the economic umbrella of the European Union”.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga