Who is threatening whom?
March 21st, 2018A liberal pundit accuses the Prime Minister of threatening his critics. A pro-government columnist dismisses the accusation and recalls that the opposition has threatened government politicians with imprisonment.
In Index, Tamás Fábián interprets as a clear threat to the critics of the government PM Orbán’s March 15 statement that he would ‘get even’ – politically, morally and even juridically after the election (see BudaPost March 17). The liberal commentator speculates that despite the efforts of Fidesz politicians to downplay the threat implied in the Prime Minister’s speech, Viktor Orbán plans to introduce even more restrictive measures against his government’s critics, including the opposition media and Lajos Simicska’s media empire, if he wins the election.
Magyar Idők’s Tamás Pataki finds the accusation that PM Orbán threatened the public, peculiar. The pro-government columnist recalls that the leaders of the left-wing opposition as well as Jobbik have threatened the Fidesz government and PM Orbán with imprisonment. Pataki contends that the accusation that Viktor Orbán has threatened his critics is just part of the opposition’s campaign rhetoric. In Pataki’s view, PM Orbán’s response to the false accusations levelled against him is far from disproportionate.