U.S. vote marks end of "liberal non-democracy" - Hungary PM

Record ID: 79611

  • Title: U.S. vote marks end of "liberal non-democracy" - Hungary PM
  • Date: 10th November 2016
  • Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (NOVEMBER 10, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, DELIVERING OPENING SPEECH AT EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT (EBRD) CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "For those who do not believe in Biblical analogies or do not like to use them, I say that we are on the second day after the Big Bang and we are still alive. What a wonderful world. This also shows that democracy is creative and innovative." AUDIENCE LISTENING ORBAN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "This is the second day of a historic event in which western civilisation appears to successfully break free from the confines of an ideology. I am convinced that it has always done good to the western culture if it managed to break free from an ideology and return to reality. I feel that we are living in the days where what we say that liberal non-democracy, in which we lived for the past 20 years, ends and we can return to real democracy." AUDIENCE LISTENING ORBAN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Hungarian) PRIME MINISTER, VIKTOR ORBAN, SAYING: "I am convinced that we are living in great days and great times. We are looking at Brexit in this way too. Brexit is not a tragedy, even remotely. It is not a defeat, but an attempt by a great nation to make itself successful in other ways than what everyone else had considered the path to success. I am convinced that the whole of Europe and western world have made important steps of a great intellectual transformation in recent months and we should not be afraid of this but see the opportunities." ORBAN SPEAKING ORBAN ENTERING ROOM FOR FAMILY PHOTO VARIOUS OF ORBAN POSING FOR FAMILY PHOTO WITH EBRD PRESIDENT, SUMA CHAKRABARTI, BULGARIAN PRESIDENT, ROSEN PLEVNELIEV, HUNGARIAN FINANCE MINISTER MIHALY VARGA, AND EUROPEAN COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT, VALDIS DOMBROVSKIS
  • Embargoed: 25th November 2016 11:15
  • Keywords: US election Trump EU Orban
  • Location: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
  • City: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
  • Country: Hungary
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA00157V2VRB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The outcome of the U.S. presidential election marks the end of a period of "liberal non-democracy" that was mainstream in the past two decades, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday (November 10).
    Hungary's conservative leader became the first European head of state in July to express a clear preference for the policies of Republican Donald Trump, who scored a surprise victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Wednesday.
    Like Orban, Trump, a billionaire investor, has also earned rebukes from opponents for what they see as more friendly business and political ties with Russia, Hungary's former Communist overlord and the United States' main Cold War rival.
    "For those who do not believe in Biblical analogies or do not like to use them, I say that we are on the second day after the Big Bang and we are still alive. What a wonderful world. This also shows that democracy is creative and innovative," he said after quoting from the Bible on the Second Day after Creation.
    "This is the second day of a historic event, in which western civilisation appears to successfully break free from the confines of an ideology," Orban told a conference organised by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
    I feel that we are living in the days where what we say that liberal non-democracy, in which we lived for the past 20 years, ends and we can return to real democracy," said Orban, without explicitly referring to Trump's election victory.
    Orban, whose speech two years ago on building an "illiberal state" earned him rebukes from the domestic opposition and some foreign capitals, said the time was ripe for politicians to break the shackles of political correctness.
    The combative 53-year-old premier has clashed several times with European Union authorities over reforms affecting the independence of the judiciary and the central bank.
    His razor-wire fence on Hungary's southern border to stem the flow of migrants before and EU deal with Turkey on reducing arrivals drew criticism from human rights groups.
    Orban drew a parallel between Trump's victory and a decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, colloquially referred to as "Brexit," saying the two events represented important shifts in global popular thinking.
    "Brexit is not a tragedy, even remotely," Orban said. "It is not a defeat, but an attempt by a great nation to make itself successful in other ways than what everyone else had considered the path to success."
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