Soros Groups risk purge after Donald Trump’s win emboldens Hungary
1 min read 11 Jan 2017, 05:42 PM ISTHungary will use 'all the tools at its disposal' to 'sweep out' NGOs funded by the Soros Groups, which 'serve global capitalists and back political correctness over national govts, says ruling Fidesz party
Premium
Budapest: Hungary plans to crack down on non-governmental organizations linked to billionaire George Soros now that Donald Trump will occupy the White House, according to the deputy head of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party.
The European Union member will use “all the tools at its disposal" to “sweep out" NGOs funded by the Hungarian-born financier, which “serve global capitalists and back political correctness over national governments," Szilard Nemeth, a vice president of the ruling Fidesz party, told reporters on Tuesday. No one answered the phone at the Open Society Institute in Budapest when Bloomberg called outside business hours.
“I feel that there is an opportunity for this, internationally," because of Trump’s election, state news service MTI reported Nemeth as saying. Lawmakers will start debating a bill to let authorities audit NGO executives, according to parliament’s legislative agenda.
Orban, the first European leader to publicly back Trump’s campaign, has ignored criticism from the European Commission and US President Barack Obama’s administration for building a self-described “illiberal state" modeled on authoritarian regimes including Russia, China and Turkey. In 2014, Orban personally ordered the state audit agency to probe foundations financed by Norway and said that civil society groups financed from abroad were covers for “paid political activists."
Orban and his administration have frequently singled out NGOs supported by Soros, a US Democratic Party supporter with a wide network of organizations that promote democracy in formerly communist eastern Europe.
‘Power structure’
Trump also accused the 86-year-old billionaire of being part of “a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities."
In a pre-election commercial, he showed images of Soros along with Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, all of whom are Jewish. The Anti-Defamation League criticized the ad for touching on “subjects that anti-Semites have used for ages." Bloomberg
"Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights!" Click here!
