Orban has previously spoken of his dislike of ethnic and religious diversity and has espoused Islamophobic and anti-semitic remarks.
Nigel Farage has been slammed for celebrating authoritarian leader Viktor Orban’s election win in Hungary.
The former UKIP leader took to Twitter to congratulate Orban for winning his fourth term in office, writing: “Congratulations to Viktor Orban!”
Fears have already been raised about the integrity of the election, with Orban accused of using EU funds to rig the election. Hungarian public and private media outlets are tightly controlled by the regime, the electoral system is gerrymandered and electoral offices are under party control.
Orban is an authoritarian leader who has previously spoken of his dislike of ethnic and religious diversity and has espoused Islamophobic and anti-semitic remarks. Orban believes Europe is being invaded by Muslims and has also promoted anti-Semitic imagery of powerful Jewish financiers scheming to control the world.
Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros has also denounced Orban’s ruling Fidesz party for stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and employing anti-Semitic tropes reminiscent of the 1930s.
Orban also has little concern for human rights. In 2021, he passed a new bill which prohibits the “display or promotion” of homosexuality or gender reassignment in television programmes, films, and sexual education programs in schools.
His election win has also been hailed by Russian despot Vladimir Putin, with Orban a long-term Kremlin ally. Although the Hungarian leader appeared to initially distance himself from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he has since refused to provide Ukraine with military equipment and also opposed an embargo on Russian oil and gas.
During his acceptance speech, Orban appeared to criticise the Ukrainian president Zelensky.
He said: “This victory is one to remember, maybe even for the rest of our lives, because we had the biggest [range of opponents to] overpower.
“The left at home, the international left, the bureaucrats in Brussels, the money of the Soros empire, the international media and even the Ukrainian president in the end.”
After Farage expressed his congratulations to Orban, he was slammed by social media users for siding with authoritarian despots.
Alex Sobel MP tweeted: “Putin and Farage-with friends like these’, while another wrote: “Lord Haw Haw is broadcasting again.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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