Hungarian PM attacks independent media and nonprofits, says they should be "swept away"

Hungary is accused of democratic backsliding under the leadership of Orbán. “All of the money coming from America should be revealed and those who receive it should be sanctioned. Money from abroad cannot be received for the purpose of influencing Hungarian politics,” said the PM, who is otherwise considered one of the closest allies of U.S. President Donald Trump in the European Union.

According to the AFP, Orbán has been inspired by the current occupant of the White House and his moves against providing foreign aid. He has expressed appreciation for the U.S. administration’s decision to start limiting the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The agency is important to humanitarian aid in many countries worldwide. The Hungarian PM declared that “a new wind is blowing” in international politics.

“We’re calling it the Trump tornado,” Orbán said on the X social media site, which is owned by Elon Musk, who is now a “special government employee” of Trump. According to the Hungarian PM, domestic non-governmental organizations receiving financing from USAID are “intentionally supporting matters related to left-wing parties” and are allegedly financed for the purpose of “bringing down the Government”.

“Now is the moment when these international networks have to be taken down, they have to be swept away,” Orbán said. “It is necessary to make their existence legally impossible.”

In the Hungarian PM’s view, the staff of organizations receiving money from USAID should be considered “agents”. Orbán has long accused the media, NGOs and his political opponents of serving foreign interests, the AFP noted.

The AP recalled that Hungary under Orbán has been fighting independent media and NGOs for years and adopting laws which, according to their critics, aim to hinder and stigmatize groups offering support to defend human rights, provide protection to minorities and women, or reveal corruption in the public administration. Those attempts intensified in 2023, when Orbán’s Government set up an office to “protect sovereignty”, tasked with investigating those media outlets and organizations which Orbán believes are exerting foreign influence, the AP reports.

The office was created on the basis of Hungary’s law on sovereignty, which critics in Hungary and internationally call an instrument of the Orbán Government for suppressing his opponents. Critics compare that law to Russia’s legislation on “foreign agents”, which Moscow is using to silence critics.

According to the governing Fidesz party in Hungary, the law is essential to protecting against foreign intervention with domestic politics. The European Commission (EC) decided to sue Hungary over the legislation, as it believes it violates European Union (EU) law.

The Orbán Government is involved in many disputes with the EC over its reforms, which the EC and several EU Member States say are trying to limit democracy in the country. Orbán claims that he is protecting Hungary from the undesirable influence of the “liberal values” advocated by Brussels.

The EU has already blocked one billion euro of funding for Hungary over its violation of the principles of the rule of law.