As a leftist politician, former Spanish MEP Carolina Punset sees the real problems of the European Union very clearly. In a series of private conversations, Punset revealed that while Hungary and Poland are continuously condemned in Brussels, the most important threats to freedom of expression in Europe remain ignored.
According to Punset, if MEPs have truly adopted a principled position on freedom of expression, it would be necessary for them to stand up against the violent attacks on journalists and teachers, the case of Charlie Hebdo and Samuel Paty for example. Instead, liberal MEPs are focusing their attacks on places like Hungary and Poland, where freedom of expression is still defended from the shackles of political correctness.
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
The simple reason behind the Brussels-based liberal mainstream’s crusade against Hungary is that they have everything to gain from attacking us, and nothing to lose. As Carolina Punset explains, “when you live in Brussels, you live in a city taken over by Islamists. A lot of veiled women, and so on. You would have a problem in Brussels if you were to tackle this issue directly.”
According to Punset, the same notion of double standards appears in the narrative of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament: They speak up against Poland’s “attempt to deprive children of their right to health and sex education,” but they remain oddly silent about the problem of female genital mutilation in France, an issue that affects 12 to 21 percent of girls in the country.
Similarly, members of the liberal group loudly criticize Hungary and Prime Minister Orbán for making sure that decisions about the upbringing and education of Hungarian children remain the sole right of parents, while at the same time they ignore direct, violent attacks on the LGBTQ community in France.
Why? Because it would be inconvenient to tackle the real issues. It’s easier to “mess with” Hungary and Poland. Pathetic.