Criticism as Viktor Orbán Visits Austrian Parliament

Criticism as Viktor Orbán Visits Austrian Parliament

From left to right: Andrej Babiš, leader of the ANO party from the Czech Republic; FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl; and Viktor Orbán announcing the establishment of Patriots for Europe in Vienna on June 30. Image: APA/Tobias Steinmaurer

 

Criticism has come from several Austrian political parties as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visits the Austrian parliament on Thursday, following an invitation from a senior member of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ).

Orbán was invited by Walter Rosenkranz, who was elected president of the National Council – the lower chamber of the Austrian parliament – earlier this month after the FPÖ’s success in the parliamentary elections held in September.

The FPÖ is part of Patriots for Europe, a nationalist coalition in the European Parliament established by Orbán over the summer.

Among those expressing sharp criticism of the visit is the Green Party.

“It’s about symbol and signal, and this signal is fatal,” said party leader Werner Kogler at a press conference at parliament.

“You can’t underestimate this,” Kogler continued. “Who is he inviting? An anti-democrat, an anti-European, and a Putin apologist.” Green MP Sigrid Maurer added that the removal of the European flag for today’s meeting is yet another alarming signal. “It proves that the FPÖ is putting its far-right fantasies into practice when in power.”

The Social Democrats (SPÖ) also condemned the visit. Party leader Andreas Babler emphasised that Rosenkranz would “certainly not be doing justice” to his role as National Council President if he welcomed a man who has transformed his country into a “corrupt elite rule.”

Shoura Hashemi, managing director of Amnesty International Austria, stated that Orbán’s visit must “not be understood as an endorsement of his repressive policies, but rather as an important opportunity to demand concrete measures for the protection of human rights.”

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