Peter Gauweiler, former Bavarian minister and vice-president of the German Christian-Social Union, who rose to international fame in 2005 when he went public with his criticism of no reference to God in the draft European Constitution; came to Hungary’s defense in an opinion piece published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung last Saturday.
Gauweiler begins by mentioning the volatile policy of Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder. Söder, who is now politicizing rainbow symbols, is the same Söder who back in 2018 spearheaded the movement to make it mandatory to place the Christian crucifix in Bavarian offices.
Yes, you read it right. In a textbook case of hypocrisy, the former Bavarian PM went from standing up for Christian symbols to promoting the LGBTQ agenda in only a couple of years. Notably, Gauweiler criticizes the moralizing intentions of the German public and leading politicians, while accusing them of hypocrisy.
Examining the twists and turns of German politics, Peter Gauweiler notes that although Chancellor Angela Merkel called gay marriage unconstitutional in June 2017, she allowed it to be voted on in the Bundestag just a few weeks later. An example of further changes in German public opinion, according to Gauweiler, is that some are now criticizing Hungary’s protection of the rights of parents in the field of sexual education, the very same thing their own ministers officially voted for years ago.
In one of the focal points of his argument, Gauweiler underlines that the “democratic legitimacy of the elected Hungarian prime minister is greater than that of all the EU Commissioners (whom he calls arrogant) combined.” According to him, EU Commissioners are constantly putting their principals and those of the member states on the line.
According to the article, recent proceedings and the attack on Hungary by the Germans were not only incorrect but also ignored the common history of the two countries. In the author’s view, Chancellor Merkel would certainly have failed in the 2017 federal parliamentary elections if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had not stopped the influx of refugees by closing the Balkan route and protecting the Hungarian border. Gauweiler also recalls that it was the Hungarians who paved the way for German unity in 1989 with the opening of the border.
In conclusion, Gauweiler stands by Hungary, criticizing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his words that Hungary should leave the EU. Even before that, the Hungarian ruling party was ousted from the European People’s Party, and this is also a sign that dissenting voices are being eliminated and, in other words, not tolerated. Gauweiler adds that these “opinion bunkers” are therefore not viable.