BUDAPEST, Hungary – The U. S. embassy in Budapest on Monday condemned an article through a Hungarian official who drew parallels between Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
The embassy posted on its Twitter account that it “strongly condemns” statements made in an article equated by a debate about the European Union’s attempt to strengthen democratic norms in its member countries “with the horrific killing of millions of others during the Holocaust. “
On Saturday, Szilard Demeter, Minister of Culture and director of the Petofi Literary Museum in Budapest, wrote an opinion paper on the Pro-Government News Origo, referring to Europe as “George Soros’ fuel chamber” and calling Soros “the liberal Fuhrer (whose ) the liberal-Aryan army deifies him more than Hitler. “
In the article, Demeter also referred to the clash over the next EU budget, which Hungary and Poland have over provisions that can block bills to countries that respect democratic norms. and freedom of the press, such as “the new Jews. “
Soros, born in Hungary and a Holocaust survivor, is a common target of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who opposes Soros’ philanthropy that promotes liberal causes.
The statements provoked strong reactions from several Hungarian Jewish teams and Hungarian opposition politicians, while the Israeli embassy condemned the article. More than 12,000 people, adding many Hungarian public figures such as Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony, signed a petition calling for Demeter’s resignation.
Demeter retracted the article on Sunday after the backlash and would delete his Facebook account.
On Monday, in the Hungarian parliament, several opposition lawmakers asked how long Demeter would be allowed to remain in office, while others demanded his dismissal, but Deputy Prime Minister Mihaly Varga, who is also finance minister, said Demeter would remain in office because he had “admitted his mistake. “
“He retracted his article and even deleted his Facebook account. He wrote that (his article) can damage the memory of the victims, so he admitted his mistake,” Varga said, and accused the opposition members of “double standards. “