Unsuccessful Steps by the Network to Undermine Hungary over the Coronavirus Response Act
The Soros-network’s centre launched its month long campaign on 20 March 2020, at first aiming to set the European Union against Hungary and its leaders „who clearly continue violate international law and and threaten European citizens”. No stone was left unturned in Hungary and abroad, but apart from the nuisance, no results could be achieved this time either, as Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourová officially confirmed that there was no basis for an EU procedure against Hungary. The campaign was a well-planned, coordinated attempt by institutions and natural persons presenting as independent and professional to pursue political decision-makers, in this case the leaders of the European Union, to sanction the freely elected government of one of the Union’s sovereign countries. The analysis by Nézőpont Intézet explores the network’s operation by documenting the domestic and foreign campaigns it organised in connection with the Coronavirus Response Act and presenting the personal and institutional contexts.
Not leaving anything to chance, George Soros didn’t launch his political campaign against Hungary through the Open Society European Policy Institute, his EU organisation in Brussels. Rather, the declaration of war was issued by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) itself in New York on the day when the Hungarian National Assembly passed the Coronavirus Response Act (2020 XII.) on 30 March. In a statement of only six sentences, the Open Society Foundations condemned the vote by the Hungarian parliament, referred to Viktor Orban as a would-be dictator with authoritarian tendencies and, among others, falsely stated that the Act would cancel future elections. At the same time it urged not just the European Union but the ”international community” to condemn Hungary [1].
Our analysis takes a detailed look into how the Soros-network tried to undermine Hungary on the international political stage and in the press. The process is instructive, as this was not the first, and will probably not be the last such campaign against Viktor Orban.