Permanent mobilisation in Hungary
The xenophobic campaigns of the Orbán government
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Since 2015, Fidesz, the ruling party in Hungary, has been mobilising the population on an ongoing basis. Here, the central theme is immigration. Although the number of new arrivals to Hungary is low, the government, primarily Prime Minister Orbán, is using a huge amount of resources to stoke fear of migrants. Several ‘national consultations’ and a referendum, prior to which the government staged campaigns lasting several months, served to generate enemy images through suggestive questions. The government is doing battle against the European Union, the opposition parties and civil society. The main figure behind these and other enemies of Hungary is George Soros, who is pursuing a plan to flood Hungary and the whole of Europe with Muslim migrants. The government is aiming for nothing less than the destruction of open society.
(Osteuropa 3-5/2018, pp. 33–55)