Steven N.
In addition to discussing the latest developments with the coronavirus in Hungary, recently-declared vaccine policies, and the new government policy of freezing prices on certain consumer goods, Viktor Orbán also talked about the backlash to the proposed “child protection” referendum on his Friday morning interview on Kossuth Rádió.
The Prime Minister responded to a statement released the day before by Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović, who claimed that the government-proposed referendum promotes “stereotypes, prejudice and hate against LGBTI people,” and “wrongly associates homosexuality with pedophilia.”
But Orbán stated that this wasn’t a human rights issue, as “adults can freely choose how they want to live their lives.” The referendum is about the sexual upbringing of children, he said, in which “the rights of parents to be able to say how they want to raise their children must be acknowledged.”
Parents decide when, what questions, and with what words to introduce their child into the complex world of sexuality. It wasn’t easy for us either to go from being a boy to a man at the age of 14. It’s a complicated world out there.
-Viktor Orbán told host Katalin Nagy.
Nagy leaned further into the topic by telling the Prime Minister that “this propaganda has already infiltrated into several schools,” bringing up a lecture given to children by a transvestite as an example.
Orbán recalled that a network of several hundred pedophiles had been uncovered in Germany, a highly-civilized country. “It’s good to know that in this modern world, we need to protect our children from certain phenomena that are becoming more prominent,” he stated.
Homosexuality is also present in today’s world, but according to Orbán, “there is a huge debate over whether or not it leads to pedophilia.” The Prime Minister reiterated that “every parent has a right [to protest] if schools want to confront our children with unfamiliar things,” and choose if they don’t want to take part in it.
“We Have to Name the Gay Members in the Government and in Fidesz Leadership.”
Reaction to Orbán’s insinuation that homosexuality may lead to pedophilia came swiftly from certain members on the opposition side.
Klára Ungár, one of the founders of Fidesz who later joined SZDSZ, posted on Facebook that the Prime Minister has begun to make a “direct link” between homosexuality and pedophilia. There is only one way to defend against this connection, she said: “We have to name the gay members in the government and in Fidesz leadership.”
LMP politician Péter Ungár, Klára Ungár’s nephew, also reacted strongly to Orbán’s comments, calling it “serious, hateful, and lying” to claim that homosexuality leads to pedophilia.
And Budapest Pride responded with a statement condemning the Prime Minister’s comments, alleging that:
The government is in fact the child abuser, who in recent years has not been ashamed to sacrifice the physical, mental, and emotional health of countless children in order to retain power.
A decent, humane and informative post about an indecent, inhuman and non factual (or is it post factual!) regime.
I have not seen such Orwellian rhetoric by the regime leaders in some time i.e. pretending to be objective about the jury being out regarding any relationship between pedophilia and same sex attraction (Wink wink). There is no science behind such nonsense.
By the regime standards, my former heterosexual clients attracted to young children, suggest the jury is out regarding heterosexuality and pedophilia. I would be laughed out of any psychologist congress (correctly) for such nonsense.
Yes you don’t have to state it directly but just claim that “there is a big debate” about so-and-so and you give yourself some distance from the topic so you can plausibly say, “Well I’m not saying it but just that other people are saying it.” Classic Trump playbook.