Western leaders criticised for praising Fidel Castro
December 5th, 2016Conservative pundits fulminate that the same Western politicians who often accuse the Orbán government of violating democratic norms remember Fidel Castro as some kind of hero – rather than a dictator with blood on his hands.
Magyar Hírlap’s Ervin Nagy finds it shocking that EU President Juncker called Fidel Castro “a hero”. The conservative columnist recalls that Mr Juncker has often criticized the Hungarian government for its supposed violation of democratic principles, and even mockingly called PM Orbán ‘dictator’. Nagy speculates that Mr Juncker is motivated by neo-Marxist leanings by forgiving Fidel Castro his regime’s democratic deficit.
In Magyar Idők, János Csontos suspects that those Western politicians who otherwise claim to be democrats remember Fidel Castro as a hero rather than a cruel dictator have pragmatic interests in Cuba. The conservative pundit believes that they benevolently skip over human rights infringements by the Castro regime in order to strengthen their countries’ business positions in Cuba. Csontos finds it outrageous that even some Hungarian left-wing politicians downplayed Fidel Castro’s crimes. Csontos concludes that the Left still applies double standards and readily acquits left-wing totalitarian dictators.