In an opinion published last Friday, Swedish, leftist MEP Malin Björk makes precisely one correct statement: The most important issues on the European Union’s current agenda are indeed climate policy, migration and the new EU budget.
Björk’s other points, however, couldn’t be more off-base when it comes to what Hungarians want.
Criticizing Hungary’s “rule of law,” MEP Björk writes that “it is time for the EU’s right to end Orbán once and for all.” Did you get that? A Swedish far-left politician wants to tell Europe’s right-wing bloc what to do. It’s so odd that it’s almost funny.
On migration, the Swedish Left Party’s MEP would promote a policy that puts “refugee rights in focus.” What’s more, as the European Parliament’s main negotiator for a European migrant quota system, she suggests that the EU should stop “listening to governments and politicians who want nothing more than to keep people away from Europe,” calling Hungary and Poland “racist right-wing” countries.
The truth is, it’s time to “end” migration, not PM Orbán.
While we don’t expect a Swedish, leftist MEP to fully understand the mindset of Hungarian people, as we come from radically different backgrounds when it comes to how we perceive migration, Björk should at the very least respect the opinion of more than 98 percent of Hungarians who voted against any kind of migrant quota system in a 2016 referendum.
Meanwhile, the Hungarian government also respects the Swedish position on certain questions that go far beyond our realm of comprehension, such as: the acceptance of immigrants’ child marriages and polygamous relationships or the refusal to talk about no-go zones and the ever-so-apparent connection between an increased terrorist threat and migration.
I could go on; the list is extensive. From where we’re standing, it very much looks like Sweden puts the rights of others in front of the rights of its own citizens. If this is what Swedes want, then this is what they shall have (although recent polls showing nearly 30 percent support for the anti-migration Swedish Democrats point in a different direction).
But here’s the thing: You won’t find a single opinion piece from a Hungarian government official criticizing Sweden for its position on migration. And we expect nothing more than the same courtesy in return.
Photo credit: PXhere