Group linked to far right government invites Milo Yiannopoulos to Hungary
The far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been invited to speak by a group funded by the Hungarian government this month.
Yiannopoulos will be delivering a speech at the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society, a group dedicated to protecting the country鈥檚 鈥渆ducational and cultural goods.鈥� The group is sponsored by the heavily anti-immigrant, far-right Fidesz party currently in power in Hungary, which was re-elected for a third term last month.
A longtime mainstreamer of racist 鈥渁lt-right鈥� ideas, Yiannopoulos had been 聽to speak in Hungary by the same group in January. However, the event 鈥� discussing 鈥淭he Future of Europe鈥� 鈥� was postponed until after the Hungarian elections, amid widespread outrage in the country.
On April 8, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orb谩n swept to electoral victory. Despite 聽47% of the popular vote in the country, his Fidesz party secured , a full two-thirds. The strongman has vowed to become the voice of illiberal democracy in Europe and said he would use his third mandate to further crack down on immigrants and immigrant rights organizations in the country.
鈥淢ilo鈥檚 invitation and the fact that Steve Bannon considers Orb谩n 鈥榯he most significant guy on the scene鈥� on the far right today illustrates that, despite the fact that Orb谩n鈥檚 party is a member of the mainstream European conservative party family in the European Union, his biggest fans are somewhere in the international far right,鈥� Andr谩s B铆r贸-Nagy, a Hungarian political analyst at Policy Solutions, tells Hatewatch.
Orb谩n, who has long opposed the European Union鈥檚 refugee resettlement plan and who is a popular voice for the anti-immigrant movement in Europe, 聽to pass 鈥淪top Soros鈥� measures. His massive anti-Soros campaign, which accused opposition candidates of plotting with the American billionaire philanthropist to turn Hungary into an immigrant country, played on antisemitic tropes. This is a popular move in a country .
With an overwhelming majority in parliament, the government has the majority it needs to pass any legislation it desires, including constitutional amendments. Apparently, with the election now behind it, the party is now free to invite far-right trolls from overseas.
